


Deceased by Dawn

by mikaworm



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Major Character Injury, Multi, Slow Burn, Stalking, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:35:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29263641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mikaworm/pseuds/mikaworm
Summary: On his way into the city to reconnect with family, loner Jake Park discovers everything in chaos; Strange creatures (dubbed "dreamwalkers") wandering around and attacking any sign of life, buildings and cars on fire, and a strange tall man with a latex mask. The two discover a child and seek shelter together, hoping for rescue.In this universe, the Dead by Daylight characters are in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. Together they will overcome deaths, dreamwalkers, struggles, and conflicts in a thrilling adventure following Jake's point of view.
Relationships: Danny "Jed Olsen" Johnson | The Ghost Face/Frank Morrison, Dwight Fairfield/David King, Julie/Susie (Dead by Daylight), Michael Myers/Jake Park
Comments: 30
Kudos: 50





	1. Strange creatures, a white mask, and my mother.

With eyes fluttering open due to a sunlight beam through the foggy window, Jake Park slowly found himself waking up. He looked around his room, the walls made of wood and a scent of pine trees enveloped him. A white desk on the opposite side of the room stood vacant, numerous newspaper clippings and nature books scattered all over it. In front of the desk a chair stood neatly, tucked into the desk. Clothes hung on it, mostly scarves and laundry Jake desperately needed to do. Hey, who could blame him? A 20 year old who moved out a year ago from a life of riches and servants wouldn’t know any better. At least that’s what he tells himself.  
Jake slowly got out of bed, taking his time memorising the warm feeling of being under the comfort of his numerous blankets before finally stepping onto the cold wooden floor, chills running through his body as he walked over to the doorframe which led to his living room and kitchen. His house was relatively open, the kitchen and living room on opposite ends of the house however at the same time connected. Jake walked to the kitchen, opening the fridge and getting a can of coca cola, downing it in one go before throwing it to the trashcan and closing the fridge again. Jake looked out the window in front of the kitchen sink, outside there were the usual trees and forest. Some crows had made their way to the windowsill, pecking at the food Jake had left out for them the night prior. He was gonna be away from the cabin today for a while; Jake was going into the city to see his family. 

A year ago Jake had cut off all ties and contact with them after he moved into this cabin in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t hate his family, he just felt like he didn’t belong. Like he was an outsider, the black sheep of a herd with white sheep. His dad was a CEO of a massive company who always expected the best from Jake and for him to take after his lifestyle. His brother was a Harvard student, graduating at the top of his class and already planning to take over their father’s company. His mother was a sweet lady who tried her best to connect with Jake but all her attempts had failed. They still lived in the city, only a 30 minute car-ride away from the pleasant somber silence of the forest.  
Today was the day Jake wanted to apologise and maybe even reconnect with his family. Truth be told, he missed his mothers cooking more than anything else. Jake himself was a terrible cook, burning everything you could imagine but forcing himself to eat it. He hadn’t had a nice meal in over a year now. 

The clock struck 12:00 PM with a chime and Jake went back to his bedroom, getting dressed in whatever fit the late winter weather. He ended up deciding on a black t-shirt with a thick dark blue sweater with some random retro print on it layered on top, a long green winter coat, bush pants, and a pair of winter boots. After his daily dose of dissociating and forgetting anything is real, Jake rushed out the door, forgetting to lock his door; He quickly walked over to his car, unlocking it and getting in. It wasn’t by any means an expensive car, nor was it a cheap piece of junk. It had its bad days, but it was better than walking or using a bike. With a couple twists of the car keys, the car started with some stutters and Jake began his drive.  
Jake’s car didn’t have a radio but he didn’t mind. Listening to the sound of his engine was calming his nerves already as the scenery changed around him; Trees starting to become less thicker and the road turning from a small dirt path to proper asphalt. At times he’d find himself humming a tune he’d heard the other day without really thinking or muttering a curse at someone else’s reckless driving. Seriously, all cars he met seemed to speed past him and in the opposite direction. Maybe something happened in the city? 

“Probably just a coincidence,” Jake mumbled to himself, trying to ignore the growing anxious worry at the back of his mind. The rest of the drive only got worse however, the frequency of cars speeding by increasing as he got closer to the city. Denying something was wrong now would be stupid and Jake’s anxiety began to do the talking. What if something happened to his family? What would have even happened? Maybe a city-wide fire? In that case, his family would be fine. Trying to reassure himself with empty promises, Jake continued to drive into the city and what he saw was nothing short of terrifying.  
There were car jams everywhere, accidents in the middle of the road for seemingly no reason, houses, buildings, and trucks on fire as well as no sign of life on the streets other than pools or splatters of blood on abandoned stores and apartment complexes. Jake continued to drive past the chaotic debris until he reached a truck parked sideways over the road, the windows shattered and the door hanging on by its frame. Seriously, what happened? A terrorist attack maybe? Even then, would that really cause this amount of destruction?

Jake got out of his car and carefully closed the door after him, not breaking eye contact with his surroundings. He stepped onto the sidewalk and flinched as he heard gunshots in the distance followed by screaming and numerous thuds and sirens that suddenly came to a stop. His heart rate began picking up drastically and adrenaline began pumping through his veins. Jake continued to walk, trying to find someone to ask what happened. Too distracted to look where he was walking, his foot hit something and he almost tripped; However quickly regaining his balance. Jake looked down to what he had hit and couldn’t believe his eyes, a sudden urge to vomit out of both fear and disgust welling up in his stomach.  
On the sidewalk laid a dead police officer in his own pool of blood, his skin a sickly white and green colour along with white eyes. His head was cracked open, strings of his brain spilling out onto the asphalt and his gun was laid next to his hand covered in blood. A foul stench emitted from his corpse that made Jake gag, backing away slowly with a hand over his mouth; If he threw up he didn’t wanna throw up on that corpse. Once his brain started running past the initial shock, Jake fumbled to get his phone and unlocking it with shaky fingers, dialing 911 and putting the phone to his ear hesitantly. The long beeps echoed in his ear before a female voice picked up.  
“The number you’re trying to reach is currently occupied. Please try again later when the lines are less busy.” 

“Fuck,” Jake cursed to himself before looking around, searching for any signs of life on the street. This man needed help! He might not be dead yet he… he could still be alive! If he is, Jake needs to get help as soon as possible. Or else the blood will be on his hands. Would he go to jail? Would they think he’s a part of whatever is happening to everyone? 

A hand taking ahold of his ankle snapped Jake out of his panicked state of mind, quickly looking down only to discover the hand belonging to the “dead” police officer. Foam was leaking from his mouth and groans of pain emitted from the officer, his body sluggishly crawling towards Jake attempting to bite his ankle. 

“W-What? Officer, are you okay!?” Jake asked hurriedly and crouched down to get a better chance of helping him only to be met by the officer’s other hand trying to cling to his face, scratching his cheek in the process. Blood seeped from the wound and dripped onto the ground, Jake’s panic only increasing by the second. Jake looked towards the gun the officer left behind and then back at the police officer, trying to figure out what he should do. This officer wasn’t acting normal at all, was he a terrorist?

“I’m here to help you! My name is Jake! Can you hear me?” Jake said slowly and loudly for the officer, attempting to decrease the distance between him and the pistol. The officer only responded in more grunts and another attempt to bite him which Jake responded to by kicking his face away and rushing to get the pistol. He picked it up and it coloured his hands red with blood; Jake pointed it towards the officer with shaky hands and backed away from the man crawling towards him as he left a trail of blood behind him.

“Stay back!” Jake said, “if you get any closer, I’ll shoot!” His finger rested on the trigger and the officer seemed to show no signs of listening or even registering what was said to him. He only continued to crawl and made a lunge to bite Jake’s thigh, making a hole in the fabric in the process before Jake shot the officer dead center in his head, blood splattering onto the asphalt and onto Jake’s pants. The officer slumped to the ground and twitched, compulsing almost, before completely ceasing all movement. With shaky breathing Jake registered what just had happened, thoughts racing in his mind. Would he go to jail? No, it counts as self defence… right? Something in Jake told him that the officer wasn’t human anymore.

“My family…!” Jake said as the epiphany of his family possibly being trapped in a building hit him. He wasted no time and began running in the direction of his family’s home, past the truck and past empty police cars that seemed abandoned. Some of them were even covered in blood while some had a police officer slumped up against them. It made Jake shiver and feel horrible for leaving them behind… he’ll come back for them later. He just has to save his family and make sure they’re okay. Jake’s feet carried him faster than he could keep up, reaching the corner to where he just had to turn it and he would see his family house. His heart beat harder and faster for each step he took and at last, he turned the corner.  
There stood his family’s house with shattered windows and a broken door. Cars on fire surrounded the gate leading into the pathway, blood splattered onto the fence. Jake didn’t even have time to register what this meant before he rushed to the house, cutting his arm on a broken piece of wood but Jake didn’t care. Jake cared about his family; he ran up the pathway towards the door. They had to be alive, he could defend them. He had a gun, he could protect them and then they could flee the city and then ---  
His panicked thoughts came to a stop as he walked into his family’s house and saw something he’d never wish to see: his mother's corpse. She had a wooden pole impaled into her chest; In her hands, a bloodied knife. She was laid next to the stairs in a pool of blood, her dress ripped at the seams and pockets inside out. Next to her, the wooden drawer had all drawers open and emptied out, documents laid messily over the floor and jewellery scattered on top of it. 

“No… no no no,” Jake said with panic in his voice as he rushed to his mother, dropping to his knees and checking her pulse. Nothing. He checked her heartbeat, nothing. Despair and desperation set in and Jake slapped her face a couple times, hoping for his mother to wake up and be magically fine. The pole still had blood seeping from the corners of her wound as wooden splinters loosened one by one, this fact was enough to tell Jake what he needed to know. Jake shakily yet carefully moved a couple misplaced strands of hair from her face locked in terror, tears running down his cheeks and dropping onto his mother’s chest.  
“I didn’t get here in time, did I?” Jake mumbled with a clump in his throat, “just like always.” He scanned the hallway while sitting with his mother and holding her limp hand, blood smeared on the walls as well as bloodied handprints and scratches in the tapestry. From what he could see, the kitchen on the opposite side of the hallway seemed to be a similar story. Multiple knives were missing and the counters were disorganised, cabinets opened and the oven shattered. Who did this? If Jake ever found who dared to set a hand on his mother, they’d be dead in an instant. Was it even another human being? Was it someone- no, something like that officer he shot earlier? Or maybe a mixture of both? Whatever it was, he held such a great amount of rage towards it he could scream. Anyone but his mother.

A couple of footsteps from upstairs made Jake flinch and his ears perked up instantly. His heart skipped a beat as he looked up towards the stairs, waiting for another footstep to indicate where upstairs they’re coming from. Could it be his father? No, his father would be at work during this time. His brother doesn’t live at home anymore and it’s not likely he could’ve gotten home in the current state the city was in. Is it a stranger? Is it whoever murdered Jake’s mother?  
Jake reached for his gun and took a hold of it tightly, he slowly got up from his mother’s side and pointed it towards whatever was upstairs. The footsteps once again continued, this time they moved closer to the stairs. Jake’s hands shook, his finger on the trigger. They seemed heavy and slow, almost as if every step was calculated with a goal set in mind. At last a figure revealed itself, trudging down the stairs slowly until the entirety of their body was revealed; The two were separated by a mere five stairs.  
It was a man in a blue mechanic’s coverall tied at the waist with a black tight t-shirt underneath. He was wearing an unsettling white latex mask with fake brown hair on the top, the eyeholes were completely black and void of facial features underneath. At the bottom of his mask where his mouth would be, there was a slit line presumably for breathing, the nostrils had holes too. The man stared at Jake and the gun, not making a single movement or saying a word which was terrifying considering this man had to be at least five inches taller than Jake. He had a backpack on too that seemed to be filled to the brim with different things and resources. The two stood in silence until Jake had decided to break it.

“Who are you? What’s your name? Why are you in my house?” Jake interrogated the man, moving closer with careful steps as he kept his gun pointed directly at the man’s head, shaky but dedicated to protect himself and his life if it came down to it. The man didn’t answer, he instead signed something. Letters, Jake thought. Fuck, his years of mandatory ASL classes couldn’t fail him now. 

“Can… Can you do that slower? I’m rusty,” Jake said nervously. To be honest, he was a bit embarrassed. Telling a stranger that potentially murdered your mother to slow down their ASL so you could understand? That’s something only Jake Park would think about doing. The man nodded however and repeated his signing, this time slowly so Jake could read each letter.

M I C H A E L. 

“Okay, uh… I’m Jake,” he introduced himself which the man, Michael, showed no reaction to. Jake gestured towards his dead mother, the clump in his throat coming back briefly, and then back at Michael with suspicious eyes who signed “no” and shook his head. Presumably trying to tell Jake he didn’t kill his mother. Jake sighed with relief which made him feel stupid; Michael could be lying. If he was lying, wouldn’t he have already killed Jake? He doesn’t seem like the person to drag these types of things out, Jake thought quietly. Perhaps he entered the house after Jake’s mom got killed and scavenged the place for supplies, assuming everyone else was dead. That’s… fair enough, Jake would’ve done the same even if he denied it.

“So, Michael…” Jake said, “you got any idea what’s going on outside?” Michael tilted his head slowly before shaking it. Jake put away his gun and sighed, sinking back to sit down by his mother’s side and holding her lifeless, pale hand. Michael continued to stare at him much to his dislike, but Jake assumed he must be autistic or have another disorder, Jake did too. He had atypical autism which many couldn’t tell, luckily. To blow up on him for something he might not be able to help is just rude and stupid. His mother would agree. Maybe she’d even ---

“Whoa!” Jake yelped when a pair of dead hands grabbed his hair and pulled him backwards; That dead, unsettling and familiar groaning breathed into his neck and he instinctively threw his hands back in an attempt to grip the… the thing’s arms and free himself, however the attempt proved unsuccessful. Jake looked back to Michael who stared at the situation before grabbing a knife from his back pocket and walking down the stairs as slowly as he seemingly could. 

“Hurry!” Jake shouted towards Michael who seemed indifferent about the whole Jake about to be fucking eaten alive. Just as his arms were about to be chomped on, Michael drove the knife into the thing’s head deeply, ripped it out only to stab it in again. The arms who were previously grabbing him fell to the ground and Jake quickly stood up, gaining distance from whatever grabbed him and then turned around; His breathing was still laboured and shaky. Looking towards the now still corpse, Jake came to the realisation that whatever tried to grab him was his mom. Or… what was left of her. Blood seeped from her head where Michael had stabbed her and Jake had to look away, covering his mouth to deal with not only the grief but the foul stench.

“Fuck…,” Jake mumbled, “that was close.” Michael looked towards him with stale body language, the only change being a slight tilt of his head you would’ve missed if you blinked. His eyes burned into Jake’s soul and he shivered slightly, brushing it off as a cold chill. He looked outside, those creatures infesting the damn city. What the fuck were they? 

“We should leave. This place isn’t safe,” Jake suggested meekly and looked back to Michael who nodded slowly. Michael then pointed to his backpack indicating he had gathered enough supplies to leave. Jake thought to himself, would it be worth accompanying Michael? Or would that be even worse? He had just met this guy and calling him unsettling would be an understatement. Even then, he seemed to know how to handle himself and protect others. Plus, he kinda raided Jake’s house. Yeah, this guy was something else, that’s for sure.  
A tug of his sleeve disrupted his thoughts and Jake looked to Michael who had his fist closed. Confused, Jake searched his body language or… mask for any indications or answers. Michael then opened his fist, revealing a silver necklace with an open pendant; A picture of his mother with Jake and his brother as children was inside. 

“Oh… oh,” Jake carefully took the pendant from Michael’s hand and closed it, “thank you, Michael.” He put on the pendant and it dangled, reaching around his collar bones before dropping into his shirt. Jake wanted to keep it like that, hidden and protected. This would probably be the last trace of his mother and he wanted to treasure it deeply even if this was all gonna be over by tomorrow probably. Hopefully.  
Michael took a hold of Jake’s wrist to his surprise and let out a yelp, walking out the house and letting him go once they reached the gate. Jake assumed that must mean he wants Jake to follow him or have some type of company while he tries to find a shelter for tonight or search for the military that could rescue them which was understandable. Jake rubbed his wrist and sniffed from crying his eyes out earlier, Michael’s grip was not so surprisingly strong. The man was a fucking giant after all.

“Help me, please! Stop!” a young female voice screamed out, snapping both Jake and Michael’s attention to the opposite side of the road. There was a young girl with short black hair who couldn’t be more than 7 laying on the ground, her knees and elbows scraped; She desperately tried to crawl away from one of those creatures. This one had its arm missing and leg chopped off completely.  
Jake’s panic instantly set in and he ran over the street only to be blocked by multiple cars in a crash, the one in the middle on fire. Just as he was about to go around them, another creature took a hold of his arm. He scrambled to get his gun, pointing it to its forehead only to discover the ammunation was gone. He cursed loudly and looked back to Michael who simply stood there, staring at Jake and the girl. What the fuck was he doing?

“Michael, save the girl! Hurry!” Jake shouted to him before grabbing a loose bit of car debris from the crash, jamming it into the creature's arm and then ripping it back out. The creature stumbled back but did not fall to the ground, instead it tried again. Jake looked to Michael who luckily was doing something for once; He ran to the girl and stabbed the creature in its knees, then right dead center in the back of its head. Jake sighed of relief for a moment before turning his attention back to his own little creature, stabbing the debris into the creature's head which caused it to fall over and cease movement. Blood was splattered on Jake’s face and he wiped it with the back of his hand, breathing still quick and unstable.  
Jake rushed around the cars and to the girl who was still on the ground, obviously shaken and upset. Her eyes were red from crying and her face was bruised from scratches and punches. Her clothing was like any other kid: A beige hoodie along with a dark green skirt and ripped tights due to the knee injury. She was wearing a pair of converse sneakers with heart and flower stickers on it, however there were some spots of blood decorating them too. She seemed to have no other injuries, though… Thank god.

“Hey there, are you hurt?” Jake said gently although out of breath as he crouched down besides her, trying to present himself as non-threatening as possible. Michael simply stared at the two or at his knife with blood from the creature on it.

“No, I’m fine… I think,” the little girl said with a shaky voice, “I don’t know where my dad is.” Jake looked around as if her dad would just appear magically and then back at her, his eyes gentle and kind.

“That’s good, I’m glad that you’re fine. I’m Jake and that’s Michael, what’s your name?” He asked and gestured towards himself then Michael to introduce the two to this frightened girl. He’d talk about her dad later.

“Cheryl…” the girl replied, “do you know where my dad is?” Jake sighed slightly and stretched out his hand to Cheryl who took it hesitantly. He stood up and helped her get up as well, making sure her legs were okay and not broken. She seemed to be able to walk fine, just with a little pain from the wounds on her knees. They’ll heal in no time.

“I don’t know where your dad is, but we’ll look for him!” Jake said with a reassuring smile to which Cheryl nodded, holding Jake’s hand tightly, “before that, let’s go to my cabin and call someone to help us. I can cook you something too, after that we’ll look for your dad. Okay?” With a confirming “mhm” sound from Cheryl, Jake started the walk back to his car with Michael following tightly behind them.

God, this was gonna be a long day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Cheryl has black hair like she does in the game as a child  
> \- Both Jake and Michael are around ~20 - 21


	2. For we are many.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> frank's a dumbass and amanda is a bad bitch

The car ride back to Jake’s cabin was quiet but not awkward, more of a comfortable silence. Everyone was occupied with their own thoughts, Jake about his mother, and Cheryl about her dad. Whether Michael could even form coherent thoughts or not was a mystery to Jake that he didn’t wanna solve, perhaps he was thinking about how to kill Jake? Haha, just kidding. He hopes. Jake looked at his gas tank and damned himself, there wasn’t much fuel left. It could take them to his cabin, that he was sure of, but anymore past that? A lost cause. Maybe he’d find some petrol later, Michael might have had some.

“...Your name is Jake, right?” Cheryl asked from the backseat shyly. Jake looked in the rear-view mirror and made eye contact with her, giving her a reassuring and kind smile. This situation must be terrifying for a 7 year old without her dad. 

“Yeah, Jake Park,” he replied and returned his eyes to the road. The truth is Jake didn’t know what would happen once he got home. Would calling anyone even be an option? Would those creatures already have overrun his cabin? Jake shivered at the thought of dying to the hands of one of those things. He’d make sure it didn’t happen.

“And… you’re Michael?” Cheryl continued after some silence and looked towards Michael who failed to turn around or even nod. This seemed to embarrass Cheryl and she leaned back into her seat, slumping forward trying to avoid eye contact. Jake sighed and hit Michael’s arm lightly before returning his eyes to the rear-view mirror.

“Yup, that’s Michael. He doesn’t talk but he’s a nice guy,” Jake said in a reassuring tone before looking back to the road. A nice guy? Really? He’d known this guy for not even two hours and still made a bold claim like that. Saying he’s not trustworthy wouldn’t be the best route, though, considering Cheryl is seven. Well, Michael did save Jake from getting bit by his mother; That’s about as far as nice actions from this guy goes.

“Ah fuck, petrol ran out,” Jake cursed and hit the steering wheel before the dark brown car slowly came to a halt, it had stopped just outside where the thick, dark green forest starts and the open road ends. Michael seemed indifferent and Cheryl looked worried, a bit anxious even. Luckily, it was only a 15 minute walk or so from here to his cabin. This had happened multiple times before, believe it or not. Jake likes to be cocky about how far an ounce of petrol can take him and doesn’t regret it until his car fully stops.

“Well, we’ll walk from here I guess,” he said and got out of the car, “it’s a short walk so don’t worry.” Jake opened the door for Cheryl who got out with a hop, her shoes hitting the gravel with a thud. She then took Jake’s hand in hers, standing by his side to see where they would go next. Michael got out too however more slowly, putting on his backpack again before closing the car door.

The three started walking down the man-made path, Jake and Cheryl leading the way while Michael walked behind them as expected. The scenery around them was nothing short of beautiful and serene, if Jake hadn’t gone to the city today he wouldn’t even have known that chaos was erupting. Dark pine trees and light birch trees surrounded the path, the taller trees stretching up so far you’d almost lose your balance while trying to see the top of them. The leaves and trees at the very top formed a crown almost, a roof for the three. Birds chirping and woodpeckers could occasionally be heard and maybe even a crow in the distance. This was where Jake belonged: in nature.

“Hey Cheryl, where do you come from?” Jake asked, trying to brighten the mood and break the awkward silence that had enveloped them all. 

“America, I grew up here!” Cheryl replied with some excitement to her voice, delighted to talk about herself just as every other kid, “what about you, Jake?” 

“I’m from America too. My parents are from South Korea th--”

“What the fuck, Joey? Get your hands off my shit,” a confrontational voice in the distance was heard, this caused the three to halt instantly, Michael took out his knife and Jake took his gun; It might not be loaded but it could surely do some intimidation. The natural distrust of other humans in this scenario started to hit Jake and he doubted himself for a split second, before realising that the voice came from his cabin. They were a mere earshot distance away now.  
“Chill out, Frank! It’s not like he’s gonna steal it from you,” another voice, this time female, replied. Jake pulled down Michael and Cheryl to crouch and the three started to make their way slowly but surely to his cabin, the remaining distance closing little by little with each meter they passed. Were they raiding Jake’s cabin? Maybe they were looking for help? Jake hoped for the latter but knew that deep down, that was unlikely in the current situation. 

“Watch out!” Cheryl called out suddenly, however too late, as a pair of arms choked Jake from behind. He shouted out before trying to stand up, but only being dragged backwards by whatever was grabbing him; He looked to the arms who had peeling skin, deep wounds, and bones sticking out at random places, this is one of those creatures, fuck. He looked to Michael who had grabbed Cheryl and yanked her away from Jake who was kicking his legs, trying to loosen the grip on his neck with no luck. At least Cheryl was safe, Jake thought. If he ended up hurt Cheryl would have Michael.

“Hey you, stay still!” the same female voice from earlier could be heard, this time showing its owner. A girl with a gray hoodie and a creepy looking mouth mask ran towards them, a knife in her hand and furrowed eyebrows could be seen. Michael seemed wary of the girl and gripped his own knife tightly, ready to defend them if he had to. It seemed that the girl had other plans, though. Once she reached Jake, she jammed the knife into the creature's head which caused it to let go, freeing Jake and letting him quickly get back on his feet with no serious injuries. 

“Follow me!” another girl called out, her hair was pink and in a tight ponytail, her face wearing one of those creepy mouth masks like the other girl. Her clothes were simple, an oversized hoodie with a skirt and a pair of tights. Jake hesitantly complied, taking Cheryl’s hand and running to the pink-haired girl while Michael and knife girl stayed behind to take care of other creatures that had heard the commotion, hoping to eat someone alive. The pink-haired girl led Jake and Cheryl away from the others, taking the two to Jake’s own cabin which they presumably didn’t know was his.  
Once they had reached the front step, she sat down on the porch with an exhausted sigh, but not a terrified one. It was a frustrated sigh, one you’d do after failing a test or missing your bus, not after fighting for someone else’s life. She gestured for Jake and Cheryl to sit beside her, and so they did. Cheryl sat in the middle of the two awkwardly while Michael and the knife girl were making their way back, blood splattered on Michael’s mask and on Julie’s hoodie.

“So, where you guys from?” Pink-haired girl asked with a sweet smile, leaning her face into the palm of her hand, her arm rested on her knee while she looked sideways to both Jake and Cheryl. She looked a bit weirded out by Michael’s mask, but she didn’t say anything. She was probably too nice to. Cheryl tugged on Jake’s sleeve shyly and he took the memo of her not wanting to talk right now, the poor girl was probably terrified after the creature from a couple minutes before.

“Well, this is my cabin,” Jake said with a slight smug face to which pink-hair girl replied with a shocked expression that turned into one thing: panic. Jake simply laughed and waved his hands, patting the porch he was sitting on.

“Don’t worry, I would’ve done the same,” he said, “after all it’s a damn mess in the city. Those… those things, they’re fucking insane.” She nodded in agreement, clearly relieved at Jake’s calmness, and watched Michael sit down next to Jake, oddly silent and knife girl plopping down beside a pink-haired girl with a huff. 

“Yeah… it’s crazy out there dude,” knife girl joined in, pausing briefly to look at Michael’s mask but ignoring it, “what’s your name? I’m Julie and she’s Susie.” She gestured towards herself then Susie, a slight smile on her face as she pulled down her mouth mask to her chin revealing a surprisingly normal face. Susie did the same and took it off, giving it to Julie. 

“I’m Jake, the girl’s Cheryl, and that’s Michael,” Jake said, “Michael doesn’t talk though.” Susie nodded and repeated their names to herself, making sure to memorise all their names so she didn’t mess up. Julie smiled at Susie’s little memorisation, giving her a kiss on the cheek before nodding and looking back into the forest. Jake wondered if they were dating but figured they probably were.

“What’s the commotion, girls?” the male voice from earlier asked and Jake turned his attention to where it came from, finding the source to be yet another white man with a creepy mouth mask but this time with neck tattoos and a definitely more edgier outfit. Is this what teens these days like? Jake thought to himself with a slight chuckle. At the sight of new people, the man understandably froze up before he grabbed his knife, pointing it towards Michael in particular. It’s hard to get used to the mask, isn’t it? 

“Hey, who the fuck is this?” he almost yelled, “you can’t just bring in new people Jules! It’s bad for the group!” Julie rolled her eyes before getting up frustrated, walking up to the man with clenched fists.

“Frank, chill the fuck out!” Julie shouted at the man who was apparently named Frank, “not everyone who’s new wants to kill us, you know?” This seemed to anger Frank even more, not surprisingly, and the two turned their conversation into a screaming match.

“This is his cabin! He’s not even mad about it, please let them stay,” Susie pleaded with Frank who seemed surprised for a split second by the information that Jake did indeed own this cabin but not before long he went back to yelling and being angry.

“And!? I don’t give a shit, Sus! For all we know he could be bullshitting us!” He answered in an angry tone causing what seems to be the final member of their little group to come out, a black man who was of course wearing another creepy face mask, his eyes accentuated with black face paint and hoodie similar to Frank’s. This must be… Joey, right? That’s the name they mentioned earlier. Joey seemed nicer than Frank, that was for sure.

“They have a kid! A fucking kid! You wanna leave a kid alone to fend for themselves!? They can help us, Jake has a gun! Michael is a fucking giant!” Julie argued back, trying to reason with him. Jake nodded in confirmation, showing Frank his gun that was arguably unloaded but still a useful asset. 

“Frank, chill out for a bit. Why don’t you go look at that tractor we found with Susie?” Joey reasoned with Frank, pointing to the tractor on the field behind Jake’s cabin. That thing had been abandoned for a couple months now but it might have useful parts, Jake figured. Frank seemed to shut up after Joey stepped in, still visibly angry and frustrated but not yelling anymore. He said a quick “fine” before stomping over to the tractor with Susie following him, not lingering far behind.. before leaving she flashed an apologetic smile and Jake shook his head, reassuring her it was fine. Julie sat back down, this time next to Cheryl and sighed. Joey looked at the newcomers but stared at Michael for a bit longer before he registered it was a mask.

“Sorry ‘bout that. Frank is a bit hotheaded,” Julie said with a slight smile, “so, how’d you guys end up leaving Jake’s cabin? This seems like a pretty safe spot.” Jake couldn’t help but internally poke fun at Julie’s statement, calling Frank hot headed when she was the one to go defensive as all hell is a bit hypocritical but funny nonetheless.

“I met Michael and Cheryl in the city actually, I was gonna meet up with my family but yeah. Shit hit the fan,” Jake explained and Julie made a face to show she sympathised with him, her eyes telling him he didn’t need to talk about it more if he didn’t want to. However a sudden scream made the situation all more terrifying and all their heads jerked to the tractor’s direction, Joey already running over there. Jake quickly got up, looking at Michael and Cheryl.

“Michael, stay with Cheryl. I’ll be back,” he said, Michael simply staring at him as a reply. Good enough, Jake thought. He quickly followed Julie and held his gun tightly by his side, unloaded or not it could scare people away. If it was one of those creatures he was fucked, though.

“Sus! Just kill it already!” Frank yelled as they arrived at the scene which consisted of Frank and Susie in front of the tractor, a creature in front of them and walking towards them, and Joey being unable to get past the barbed wire fence that separated Jake, Julie, and Joey from Frank and Susie. 

“I can’t Frank, I can’t! I can’t kill it!” Susie yelled back, her voice shaking and tears rolling down her face. Jake looked to Julie who shook the barbed wire, kicking it and punching it trying to get through. She seemed distressed, anyone could tell she was on the verge of tears.

“Frank, just fucking kill it for her!” Julie shouted at him while trying to get through the barbed wire fence, attempting to climb it but only cutting up her hands and cursing. The blood dripped onto the ground, one after one. Jake got a feeling something bad was about to happen. Something very bad.

“You need to kill it! It’s not the same anymore, that thing isn’t alive or human! Fucking kill it!” Frank angrily shouted at Susie and gestured towards the creature only getting closer and closer to them, “it’s gonna get us! Kill it already!” Joey seemed to be having similar plans to Julie, his side ripped and bleeding from trying to knock the fence down. 

“This isn’t the time for arguing! She can’t kill it, just kill it Frank! Don’t be a bitch!” Joey said frustrated and stressed, his eyes scanning the area for a way in, “how did you get out there!? Where’s the fucking exit?” Frank seemed to ignore Joey’s question and only focused on Susie. He was dead set on having her kill. 

“For fucks sake! Babe, I need you to listen to me,” Julie said which caught Susie’s attention, she looked towards Julie instead of Frank, her legs and hands were shaking; The knife in her hands was barely gripped, it could fall any moment.  
“You can do this! Okay?” Julie reassured her, “just stab it in the head! Like you stab watermelons! We can get you watermelons once you stab it, okay?” Her voice was as soft as it could be while shouting, Jake could tell there was love in it. Susie nodded and gripped the knife harder, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath in.

“Just kill it, bitch!” Frank suddenly yelled and pushed her onto the creature, the creature grabbing her wrist and pulling her down to the ground. Before she could react, the monster took a big bite out of her neck and blood splattered everywhere. Crunching noises could be heard as it reached bone, Susie’s feet flailing around trying to free herself. Frank screamed with surprise and backed away, his eyes wide and his knife too far away on the ground to grab. Julie banged on the fence while screaming, sobbing her eyes out as she had to watch her girlfriend get eaten alive. Her hands were dyed a dark red at this point, blood leaking from the wounds and cuts. Jake watched in horror, his heart beating so fast it hurt and his hearing becoming muffled.  
Joey found a way in and ran to the two, pushing Frank aside and stabbing the creature’s head with such force it made the corpse jump from the impact. Susie’s body by now had stopped moving and once Joey rolled her over, a terrified expression was locked in place as her eyes turned more and more white. Is… is she ---

“Is she okay?” Cheryl asked quietly and terrified, standing besides Jake which he only noticed now. Behind her was Michael who stood and watched as he usually does; Jake shot him a “why did you come here?” glance before crouching down to block Cheryl’s view of what happened. 

“She’s…it’s okay,” Jake said, he struggled to find the right words to say. How could he tell a 7 year old someone just got eaten alive by another human? That thing might not be human but it feels so fucked up. From behind him, Jake could hear Julie cry her heart out, Frank pacing around and cursing while Joey seemed to be silent. This was wrong, so so wrong. 

“Is Susie okay?” Cheryl continued to ask while Jake had to fight back the urge to just walk away. He didn’t want to leave Cheryl alone but at the same time, this was all so much to deal with. Usually when shit hit the fan, Jake could go to his room and calm down, think about what happened. He can’t now. Someone just fucking died right in front of him and he didn’t help, not like he could have considering the situation, but still.

“Susie is in a better place now,” Jake almost choked on his own words, “there are no creatures there.” Cheryl connected the dots in her head and made a small “oh” sound before looking at the ground, visibly distressed. Jake hugged her gently before taking her hand in his, standing up and leading her away from the scene. However, he quickly got interrupted when he saw a herd of creatures heading right their way. Fuck, the noise must’ve attracted them, Jake thought. He looked back towards the others, Michael had seen what Jake saw and walked to the two, his knife gripped tightly. Michael seemed… unaffected, by what just happened. No time to confront him about that.

“Joey, Frank, Julie! We gotta go, there’s a herd of them coming this way!” Jake shouted which instantly got the teenagers attention. Joey looked to the herd and so did Frank, however Julie didn’t even bother to. She kept caressing Susie’s face and hair, tears dropping onto her body. 

“Hurry! They’re gonna see us any second!” Jake attempted again, this time successful as Joey got up and put on his backpack, Frank doing the same and retrieving his knife. The two looked back at Susie’s body with regretful eyes before hurrying over to Jake. Julie seemed to be hesitant, looking towards the others and then back to Susie. After a couple seconds passed, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in before taking Susie’s necklace and booking it to the others. It seemed her survival instincts had finally kicked in, grief would come later. 

Jake picked Cheryl up with all his strength, putting her onto his back not realising how heavy a 7 year old can be. He took a couple steps before groaning, those years of skipping P.E class have finally come back to bite him in the ass. Michael looked at Jake and noticed he was struggling, the cogworks in his head starting to work before he carefully picked Cheryl from Jake’s back and putting her on his own, waiting to see Jake’s reaction. Jake, understandably, was shocked from the loss of weight but eventually put the dots together, a red flush coming over his face. Fuck, that’s embarassing. Jake swore he could see a slight smirk behind Michael’s mask.

“Let’s go! We don’t have time!” Joey called out before running, Jake and the others quickly following. The creatures could be heard groaning behind them, struggling to keep up with their pace and eventually giving up at preying on them. The woods only got thicker and their pace got slower, their full run turned into exhausted walking. The path they walked on was slimmer than before, at times you didn’t even notice it was there. No bird song could be heard, it was just eerily quiet in this part of the woods if you didn’t count the sound of shoes against the ground.

Everyone was silent, no one dared to say anything. Not after what happened back at Jake’s cabin. Julie seemed dead inside, her eyes empty and dull as she clenched Susie’s necklace and mouth mask. Frank was tense and avoided all eye contact with anyone, shame was written all over his body language. Joey led the way for them, his walking calculated and decisive. Michael was carrying Cheryl who was sleeping on his back, no wonder she’s exhausted. Jake himself was holding up decently, his feet hurt though. Michael seemed to notice this, Jake’s tiny curses and complaints under his breath didn’t go unnoticed. Maybe… Maybe he could carry Jake, Michael thought to himself. He was small compared to Michael.  
Just as he was about to test his plan, a sudden break of a branch alerted the entire group to be on their guard; Michael took his knife and Jake got his gun out. 

“Hey, who’s there?” Joey asked defensively but not threateningly, “we want no trouble. We have a kid with us.” Cheryl awakened at the sudden stop and talking, rubbing her eyes and confused as to why she was on Michael’s back instead of Jake’s. Julie grabbed a screwdriver from her pocket, holding it in front of her; Her hands were still shaking.

Seconds of silence and tension followed before more cracked branches could be heard, followed by a figure revealing itself to the group. It was a white woman who must’ve been in her late 20’s, black hair in a 2000’s esque bun, wearing a t-shirt, a red coat, and a pair of blue jeans. Her arms were in the air, eyebrows furrowed and facial expression stressed.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” she said, “I was looking for herbs before I saw you guys.” She walked closer to the grup, showing she had no weapons other than a pocket knife by shaking her pockets and tapping her jeans. Joey nodded in approval, waving his hand to tell the rest of the group to put their weapons down. Jake complied, putting back his gun in his pocket carefully. 

“What’s your name?” Jake asked, moving to the front of everyone else to better talk with this stranger. Could they really trust her? She seemed harmless enough, but why would she be searching for herbs? That sounds like a bullshit excuse. 

“Amanda, Amanda Young. I’m with other people,” Amanda replied warily, her body language screaming defensive in all aspects. Michael moved to stand beside Jake too, Amanda visibly taken aback by his height and mask. 

“Where and who?” Julie suddenly inquired, not having put down her screwdriver. Amanda sighed, pointing to the left of where they were right now. In the distance, smoke from a fire could be seen and Jake could even hear chattering. Damn, he wasn’t as perceptive as he’d assumed.

“There, I’m with a doctor and some random homeless guy,” she said with a sarcastic tone at the end of her sentence, “it looks like you could need some medical attention.” Amanda was referring to Julie’s hands, which were still bleeding, holding onto the screwdriver, Julie was a bit taken aback but nodded reluctantly.

“Can you help her? Do you guys have shelter? We have a kid with us!” Jake said and gestured towards Cheryl who was now awake, still on Michael’s back. She shyly waved to Amanda who smiled gently towards her, earning a smile back from Cheryl. Amanda then looked at Jake again, nodding and crossing her arms.

“Yeah, come along. We’ll figure it out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- Amanda = Pig. We're going off her appearance in the Saw II movie!  
> \- RIP to Susie, she was a real one. Frank is a dumbass


	3. The pig, the botanist, and a white scarf.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> amanda is a bad bitch and caleb is a musty old man

Jake took Cheryl’s hand in his, following Amanda to her shelter. Michael followed shortly behind, but Joey and Frank lingered behind to gather up all their materials. Julie, though, hadn’t budged yet, her eyes plastered on her dead girlfriend's necklace. She was quiet, only making small sniffles and the occasional sob. Jake’s eyebrows furrowed slightly, he was worried, but this reaction was to be expected. He shook his head lightly before sighing to himself, poor girl. 

“Is Julie okay?” he heard Cheryl’s small voice question, her voice wavering ever so slightly. Jake didn’t trust his words enough to answer verbally, so he just smiled softly instead and nodded, however he wasn’t sure if that was the truth. After a few seconds, Julie was following Amanda too, Joey and Frank in front of her. Jake saw her shoot a few angry glares to the back of Frank’s neck, Frank just looked regretful and angry with himself.  
After a tense few minutes, they all safely reached the camp. Jake saw two other people, one was a black woman with frizzy dark brown hair and a pink shirt paired with blue jeans. Alongside her must be the supposed homeless guy Amanda mentioned. He had long silver hair and silver stubble to match, a cowboy hat placed on top of his head. He looked… musty to put it lightly. He wore a long brown trench coat and blue jeans.  
The man was the first to speak, his voice had a southern drawl to it. 

“Who the fuck’re these fellas?” his voice was deep and raspy, presumably from smoking blunts. Amanda rolled her eyes slightly,  
“Just some other survivors I found, they don’t seem dangerous and one of them’s injured. Figured I could get Claudette to take a look at her,” she replied, gesturing to Julie’s bleeding hands. Jake made a mental note that the other woman, who must be the doctor, was named Claudette. 

The man let out a deep chuckle:  
“Surprised you got ‘em to even come with ya, you ain’t the friendliest that's for sure.” The remark seemed friendly enough, coming off as just playful banter, but Amanda seemed to take offence to it as she rolled her eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.  
While the two bickered, Claudette stepped forward with an apologetic smile on her face. 

“Sorry about those two, they’re always like that but you get used to it. The guy is Caleb, and the girl is Amanda. Guessing you already knew that though.” Her voice was sweet and soothing, a pleasant change compared to Frank’s aggressive loud voice and Julie's high-pitched squeaky one. Jake smiled, shaking her hand lightly. 

“Nice to meet you. I’m Jake, this here is Cheryl!” Cheryl waved shyly to Claudette, hiding behind Jake’s legs. 

“The guy with the, uh, creepy mask is Michael, the guy over there on the left is Joey, the girl is Julie and the other guy is Frank.”  
Claudette was quiet for a moment, seemingly trying to memorise everyone’s names before nodding slightly. She walked towards Julie and grabbed her injured hand gently, she clearly didn’t acknowledge personal boundaries but she makes up for that with her kindness, Jake thought.

“Come over here, honey,” she said to Julie, wiping her tears from her face, “we’ll get you nicely patched up, alright?” Julie followed her over to a table full of medical supplies and Claudette worked on cleaning and stitching up her wound.  
For the first time today, Jake felt almost relaxed, but it seemed he was the only one who felt like this. Frank was clearly still on edge from what had happened with Susie, Joey too. Well, Julie was obviously still distraught. I mean, she had just watched her girlfriend get eaten alive after all. And Michael? Well, it was hard to tell what he was feeling ever, Jake wondered sometimes if he even had any thoughts or feelings of his own.  
His peaceful thoughts were interrupted by a loud tapping noise. This caught the attention of everyone, as they looked towards the source of the noise. Everyone visibly relaxed when they saw it was just Amanda, she looked ready to say something. 

“Alright! We can’t just sit in this shithole all day. We gotta get a plan! How about we do some hunting? Try find some supplies and hey, maybe even a new shelter or some new people. After the little lady over there is all patched up and ready we’ll set sail, got it?”  
Her question seemed more like a statement than it was a question, Jake figured he’d be going even if he didn’t want to. Michael just stared at her, as usual, and Cheryl looked weary. He heard Frank grumble a ‘whatever’ under his breath as Joey hit him lightly on the head. Looks like things would be tense for a while, huh.

An hour or so passed, Claudette having finished sorting out Julie’s injuries and some people chatting away mindlessly. Amanda stepped up again, exclaiming stuff about hunting. They decided to all go, splitting up was a bad idea after all. Julie agreed to that straight away, unsurprisingly considering what happened to Susie last time they’d split up. Jake couldn’t help but pity her.  
Everyone grabbed weapons and medical supplies just in case, Cheryl choosing to stick close to Michael and Jake. Caleb walked with Amanda, the pair bickering passive-aggressively, although more lighthearted on Caleb’s end. Julie had refused to walk with Frank, choosing to stick with Joey and Claudette. Frank walked alone, eyebrows furrowed and occasionally letting out exaggerated sighs. He occasionally looked at his friends, feeling a little lonely, not like he’d ever admit that though.  
They came across a few bottles of water and some food, nothing remarkable though, not like extra food was anything to complain about. The walks in the woods reminded Jake of his life before the apocalypse, he wished he was back there again; he wished he never came here. He was broken out of his thoughts by Caleb’s voice echoing through the forest. 

“Oi! Fellas! Look what I found over ‘ere!” Everyone ran over to join him, just to find a large store in front of them. Amanda’s eyes seemed to light up, and Julie looked hopeful for the first time in hours. Frank seemed indifferent but his eyes peered up at the building with a sort of childlike curiosity. He seemed… tense, though, a little on edge. What was up with him now?  
Jake walked up to him, lightly placing his hand on the other man’s shoulder. Frank jumped at the action, a surprised yelp escaping his chapped lips. 

“What the fuck, man!?” he yelled, catching the attention of everyone else. Jake apologised thoroughly, 

“Sorry, just wanted to get your attention. Anyway, what’s up with you Frank? You look more tense than before.” Frank looked awkwardly to the side, seeming unsure. 

“Well, uh, to be honest I feel like I’m being watched. I’ve just… just got this feeling of dread and paranoia! Fuck, don’t tell me this apocalypse shit is getting to me already.” Frank tried to whisper it, but unfortunately he’s not a good whisperer and everybody else heard. 

“The fuck?” Julie was the first to reply, “you think you’re being stalked? What a joke, who the fuck would wanna stalk you? You’re a fucking useless dumbass murderer.”  
After Julie said those words, everyone went silent. The air was tense, even Frank had nothing to say. He looked hurt, his strong front broken. Julie looked away, clearly regretting her choice of words. He was still her friend after all, and shit, it was an accident after all.  
Frank’s hurt turned to anger as he then lunged at Julie, cursing at her and aiming his knife at her. Julie looked scared for her life as Joey ran to pull him off her. She crawled away from him, clutching her knife protectively. Frank sighed, looking defeated. 

“Whatever, Jules.” The use of her nickname left a feeling of hurt in Julie’s heart.  
It was silent after that, no one daring to say anything. Everyone was off doing their own thing, looting the surrounding area and finding meds and food. Jake felt useless, really, he wasn’t really doing anything. 

He felt a tap on his shoulder, he turned around to see Michael stood staring at him, a scarf in his hands. He gently pushed it into Jake’s arms, nodding slightly.

“Oh! Uh, thanks Michael. Where’d you, uh, where’d you get this?” Jake was a little weary of Michael still, he was so mysterious and he just stared at you, the mask certainly didn't help. The masked man pointed over to a pile of clothes left on the floor, and Jake was about to speak up before he felt hands wrap the scarf around his neck.  
He felt his face heat up as he realised it was Michael who was doing this. Jake just nodded, not trusting himself to be able to speak coherently and knowing him he’d just embarrass himself.  
He looked up, and he swore the other man was smiling, not like he’d be able to tell through that terrifying mask however. Cheryl peered up at them curiously, seeming calmer than before. Although, the dispute between Frank and Julie had clearly shaken her up a bit. 

The sweet and almost romantic moment ended just as quickly as it had begun, as the calm mood was disrupted when Claudette screamed out in terror. Jake looked over, seeing zombies wrap their arms against her, pulling her towards them. Julie stood still, frozen with terror and memories of earlier. Frank was equally as shocked. Joey ran over, Jake did too.  
However, before anyone could even reach her, the zombie’s skulls were already bashed in and Claudette was safe. Standing next to her was a white girl with ginger hair and freckles, wearing a baseball cap and some jeans with a red t-shirt.  
She wiped sweat off of her brow, sighing in relief. 

“Phew! If I was any later and the poor girl would’ve gotten her head chomped off!” her voice was perky and cheerful, and she ended her sentence with a friendly wink. 

“I’m Meg, me and my friend Nea live in this store. I heard the commotion and saw your woman over there getting chomped on. Who’re you guys?”  
Everyone introduced themselves to the girl, explaining their current situation. Meg listened and welcomed them to stay in the store with them, claiming they could always use some extra help. She seemed to be quite young in age, being 23 at maximum, probably even younger.

Everyone followed her into the store where another young girl with brown hair shaved at the sides and a beanie was rested against a counter. She wore a grey vest and black sweatpants, a tattoo adorning her arm; This must be the Nea girl Meg had mentioned.  
Everyone introduced themselves once more, getting to know the two new girls. Julie seemed to have cheered up a bit after meeting them, Frank seemed more distant than ever. Caleb and Amanda still bickered away as if they weren't in a literal zombie apocalypse right now, Jake found it a little endearing if he was honest. 

He wondered if things would be like this forever, and if he would ever be able to return home. The pessimistic side of him said it would always be like this and he should just let go of his past, but he liked to think otherwise. The room was filled with friendly chatter and banter once more, and Jake felt at peace for the second time that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- thanks for everyone's support!! :)


	4. Dreamwalkers and sweet caramels.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a new iconic character makes their appearance and frank continues to be a dumbass

To say Jake fell asleep quickly would be an understatement, it seemed that everyone would think the same. He was exhausted from today’s events and hoping to wake up realising it was all just a nightmare. Jake, Michael, and Cheryl were sleeping on the floor next to each other; Cheryl was in the middle of the two, occasionally waking up terrified from a nightmare. Jake slept like a rock as usual while Michael was never really fully asleep, drifting in and out of consciousness constantly. Claudette and Amanda slept next to Nea and Meg while Caleb, Joey, and Julie seemed to sleep in the storage room. Frank slept alone next to the store counter.

It didn’t take long for Frank’s eyes to flutter awake though, loud noises and commotion interrupting his dreams. He sat up with a headache and a groan, his back hurting from sleeping on the floor. Outside the sun seemed to be rising, but it was still dark outside. He looked around the store only to find everyone still sound asleep, the noises having stopped. Frank was confused, a creeping fear enveloping him. What if he had really gone insane? What if this was… Susie’s spirit haunting him?  
Frank shook his head at the stupid thought and turned around to his backpack. He wanted to eat something desperately, his stomach ached and he was lightheaded from everything that happened yesterday. Frank went to open his backpack, only to discover it was already opened. Furrowing his eyebrows, Frank rummaged around it and found that most of his food and stuff was gone.

“What the fuck…?” he whispered to himself, looking towards the storage room where Julie was sleeping. The door was slightly ajar. Did Julie actually steal his shit or was he losing it for real this time? No, he couldn’t have been imagining it. He heard noises and his shit was gone, you can’t imagine that! He had never sleep walked before, so that explanation is already out the window. He can’t think of anyone in the group who would do this other than Julie.  
Michael seemed to wake up due to Frank’s crisis, looking to the opposite side of the room where he was sat. Frank got up angrily, walking over to the storage room and almost slamming the door open which caused Claudette and Cheryl to wake up with a jolt.

“Jules, what the actual fuck!? You stealing my shit?” Frank yelled at the girl who was, in fact, still half-asleep. She rubbed her eyes confused and tried to get a grip of the situation, realising that this wasn’t a nightmare and this was reality. Susie. A sharp pain stabbed her heart and Julie clenched the necklace in her hand, looking to Frank who was still yelling about stealing his shit or something like that.

“What the fuck are you talking about? Dude, it’s like 6 am, chill out,” Julie said waking up fully, cringing at the sight of her hands wrapped up in bloodied bandages. It seemed that everyone besides Jake had woken up, trying to make sense of what’s happening and why Frank was even yelling in the first place.

“I’ll show you what I’m talking about,” Frank said before shaking his visibly empty backpack, “you stole my shit! I know you did, it woke me up! I was gonna eat the sandwich in here before realising, hey, Jules the grand bitch stole my food!” Claudette looked at the pair worryingly, stepping in between the two before it escalated any further. Amanda seemed to not give a fuck and got up from where she was laying, going to smoke a cigarette or two outside with Caleb following her.

“Hey hey hey, I’m sure it was just a misunderstanding,” Claudette said trying to calm the two down, “no one stole anything. Frank, you might’ve misplaced it.” Her voice was sweeter than honey but this seemed to only anger Frank more, kicking the wall with a loud curse before walking away; He was going outside to calm down for a bit, Claudette assumed.

“Dude, fucking chill out! I didn’t take your shit! Stop acting like I’m the bad guy, you killed my fucking girlfriend!” Julie yelled back as Frank slammed the door shut, his curses heard even from the inside of the store. Julie cursed under her breath and got up, Joey following her. Claudette sighed sadly and sat down, running her hands through her hair. 

Jake woke up to Cheryl shaking him and Michael standing above him, staring deep into his soul. He sat up with a jolt at the sight of Michael’s terrifying mask, almost hitting his head on Michael’s chin. Looking around the store, Jake determined that this was in fact not a nightmare he’d wake up from. 

“Good morning,” Jake said with a yawn, “what’s wrong Cheryl?” She seemed distressed and pointed towards Frank who was outside smoking a cigarette with Amanda and Caleb, then to Julie who was sitting with her face in her hands, Joey trying to comfort her. Jesus, what did he miss?

“Frank and Julie fighted…” Cheryl mumbled, “because Frank thinks Julie stole from him.” She pointed over to Frank’s empty backpack he had thrown down back where it was when he was asleep, Jake looked to Michael who nodded slowly as a confirmation that did happen, but Jake didn’t doubt it in the first place. Those two have been on edge ever since… Susie died.   
Jake got up with a huff and walked over to Frank’s backpack, Cheryl and Michael following like two puppies. He crouched down to get a better look and sure enough, the backpack was empty and nothing was found in it besides a couple masks and some pencils. However at the very bottom of the backpack tucked away laid what seemed to be a photograph. Jake furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, picking it up carefully only for his stomach to drop. It was a photograph of Frank sleeping, and it didn’t seem old. It was newly developed. What the fuck?

Michael saw what Jake saw and took a hold of his shoulder, pulling him away from the backpack. Cheryl was oblivious, looking at some candy she found by the counter excitedly. Jake stared at the photograph and for each second that passed, the more terrified he got. None of them had a camera. Maybe Frank was right about having his stuff stolen, but not by Julie. By a stranger they hadn’t met, and whoever it was didn’t want anyone but Frank to see that photograph. Too bad for that creepy stalker, Frank’s a dumbass and doesn’t look through things properly.

“Michael, what do we do?” Jake asked, clearly frightened to which Michael simply patted his shoulders and shrugged slowly. Jake put the photograph in his pocket for now, showing Frank would cause even more of a commotion and that’s not what they needed right now. Especially when tensions between Julie and Frank were at an all time high. 

“The dreamwalkers got you scared?” Nea popped out from nowhere which caused Jake to flinch and yelp before realising it was just one of the girls who had saved their ass yesterday. He still had to thank them for that, but what did she mean with dreamwalkers?

“Dreamwalkers? What do you mean?” Jake asked confused at the name of whatever creature Nea was talking about, did she mean those creatures? That’d make sense but, dreamwalkers? Where did she even get that from? They don’t really… sleep? Or walk in your dreams?

“Those creatures out there, they’re called dreamwalkers,” Nea explained, “heard it from a cop when I was in town.” Jake made an “ah, I see” sound before turning back to Frank’s empty backpack, staring at it. Nea seemed to take note of that while Jake’s cogwheels started turning, why would the cops have a name for it? Maybe she was just lying to seem cool? Ugh, whatever. He was too tired and hungry to think about that.

“I think the apocalypse is getting to his head,” Nea said with a nervous laugh before leaving the three to help Meg out with sorting supplies. Jake didn’t even nod as an agreement, he just kept staring at the backpack. How did Frank not see the photograph? Was it planted there after he showed Julie the backpack? Jake shivered at the thought that they could be watched right now, trying to think about something else.

“Hey Jake, look! I found candy!” Cheryl said happily as if she could read his thoughts while tugging his sleeve, showing him a few wrapped caramels she had found on the countertop. Jake smiled kindly and crouched down, taking two from her hand.

“You can keep these, Michael and I can take these,” he said and Cheryl nodded proudly, quickly unwrapping one of the caramels and chewing down on it with a big smile on her face. Jake did the same, sweetness exploding in his mouth as his teeth chewed down on the sticky gooeyness. Michael seemed to keep his for now, putting it in his pocket to Jake’s confusion. He must be hungry, right? Oh well, he’ll eat it later, Jake thought.

“When are we looking for my dad?” Cheryl asked after swallowing one of her caramels, stuffing the other one in her hoodie’s pockets. Jake felt a pang of guilt in his chest and conscience knowing that Cheryl’s dad was probably… no, he didn’t wanna say it. Or even think it.

“When things calm down in the city, we’ll go looking for him,” Jake said as reassuring as he could, “until then I’ll take care of you. How’s that sound?” Cheryl didn’t exactly like his reply but it was a promise; She didn’t mind either because Cheryl liked Jake. He was nice and protected her, Michael was scary but he seemed nice too. She trusted them and that was enough for her to believe Jake’s words.

Just as Jake was about to begin unwrapping another caramel, he heard a loud, feminine scream coming from the entrance of the store. He was beginning to get sick of this already, and it had only been a day. He walked towards the noise, going to see what the commotion was and what he saw had him in pure shock and horror. Meg, the girl from last night who saved them, was being teared apart by a dreamwalker. Her gun was discarded and thrown away to the side, she was reaching for it desperately. 

“What are you doing!? Help me, idiots!” she screamed out, her voice high pitched and full of panic. Everyone seemed frozen with fear, Cheryl hiding behind Michael who was just stood watching. Nea was the first to move, running to the gun to presumably go and save her friend. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it very far, as she tripped over a rock. She fell with a thud, her ankle bleeding and sprained. Nea was determined, though, and she stood up once again and limped to the gun.  
If she was a little quicker then perhaps she would’ve made it in time for Meg to at least be able to say goodbye, but by the time she reached the weapon the other woman was long gone. Her face looked like it was falling apart, her left arm discarded from her body as the dreamwalkers devoured whatever was left from her frail body. Nea stood and watched in shock, her hands shaking as she let out a terrified scream. Everyone else was panicking, Cheryl beginning to cry and Claudette running over to her medkit. She knew she couldn’t save Meg, but part of her hoped that she still could. She knew false hope got her nowhere, though. 

Sweat fell from Nea’s brow as the dreamwalkers began to stumble towards her. If there were only a couple then she could’ve managed it, but unfortunately there were at least five, and everyone else wasn't the most helpful. Caleb grabbed his gun, shooting three of them in the head, and Jake yelled at Michael to do something but it wasn’t like he could considering he had a seven year old girl clinging to his leg in fear. Amanda grabbed her knife, but she was too hesitant to even attempt to attack them, and her hesitance cost her Nea’s life.

The final dreamwalker took a big bite into her neck, and Nea let out her final scream of the night. Caleb shot the final one, but he was five seconds too late, as the girl had fallen to the floor with bloody teeth marks sunken deep into her pale neck. At least the dreamwalkers were dead, but so were their two companions, and the gunshots from Caleb’s gun were sure to have alerted others near them.   
Cheryl’s loud sobs filled the air, the room otherwise silent apart from a loud gasp from Claudette who had just appeared again with a medkit. She ran over to Nea, who was still barely alive. The brunette sputtered, blood splattering all over Claudette’s face who was knelt next to her with medical supplies. Tears spilled from her eyes as she hurriedly began wrapping bandages around Nea’s neck. 

“We can save her! We can!! We just-- We just need to give it time!” Claudette tried to encourage everyone, she tried to encourage herself too, but even she knew deep down Nea was long gone. The other girl still smiled at her, it seemed even Nea knew she was going to die. 

“It’s okay Claudette, I’m happy to die as long as it’s with Meg.” she said softly, her voice hoarse from screaming and her cheeks tear stained. Nea turned her head to Meg’s still corpse, her eyes full of sadness. Claudette turned to look too, but quickly looked away. That was a sight too horrible for even her, a doctor who was used to the worst of injuries.   
Cheryl was still crying, but she ran over to Nea and embraced her in a warm hug as she sobbed into her shoulder. Rain poured from the sky, clouds covering the sun as everything turned dark. The light from Nea’s eyes were gone, it wouldn’t be long before she became a dreamwalker too. 

“Come on, honey, we need to go. Nea’s in a better place now, with Meg.” Claudette soothed Cheryl, grabbing her hand and leading her back to Jake and Michael. Frank sighed loudly, mumbling curses and angrily hitting his hand against the desk. Julie and Joey looked away, feeling guilty that they just let it happen. They weren’t sure how Caleb did it so easily, they felt like they would never be able to kill those creatures as easily as he had.   
Everyone was talking amongst themselves quietly, either comforting each other or praising Caleb for helping. Shockingly, even Julie and Frank seemed to be talking to each other civilly, or at least as civilly as they could considering everything. The sound of rain pattering softly against the roof and windows filled the void and quietness, it was oddly peaceful considering the circumstances. 

“Guys…” Amanda’s panicked voice filled the air, drawing everyone's attention, “We gotta go, and quick. A hoard of dreamwalkers are headed our way, if we don’t move it we’ll be their next snack. Grab up your supplies and get going. There was a farm up north, let’s see if anyone up there, okay?” 

Everyone gathered what they could, even Cheryl was hastily stuffing candy in her pockets. Jake searched the drawers, finding various knives and some gum. He kept onto the weapons and figured Frank, Joey or Julie would like the gum. After a few minutes, it seemed everyone was ready, and they ran out of the store through the exit. Frank and Caleb shot a few dreamwalkers on their way out, Frank seeming a little scared while Caleb was as calm as he could be.   
Amanda stabbed a few to protect Joey and Julie, who took a little longer to leave than the others. Michael had Cheryl on his back, running out of the store with the others and making sure Jake was near him and that Cheryl wouldn’t bump her head on anything.   
As soon as they were all safely out, they barricaded the door and Claudette got a map out of her medkit. She really had everything in there, Jake thought absentmindedly to himself. 

Amanda located the farm she was talking about, stating before that it was owned by a Japanese family. The farm was called “The Yamaoka Farm”, and she explained Yamaoka was the surname of the family who owned it. Everybody seemed on board with the idea, only Caleb seemed a little hesitant which caused Amanda to yell at him and the two to bicker between each other once more. 

They climbed uphill, occasionally stopping to take rests and water breaks. Frank couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, and he swore he saw movement in the bushes. Around halfway through the journey, he thought he had seen the figure of a man in the forest next to them too. He wanted to believe it was all just one weird coincidence, the constant paranoia, the stealing, everything, but it seemed a little too coincidental. Perhaps he really was going crazy. 

Jake noticed Frank’s discomfort, debating whether to ask if he was alright, but he knew it was most likely because of the stealing incident back at the store. His mind went back to the photo at the bottom of Frank’s backpack, and when he had said he felt watched yesterday too. He couldn’t actually be getting stalked, right? Jake wanted to believe it was just Frank being Frank, but it was just too much and it seemed more and more likely that he actually was being watched. Shit, this was a mess. Jake wished he was back home in his little cabin away from all of this.

After approximately ten minutes, everyone was safely at the farm. It seemed in good enough condition and the farm animals were still alive and seemingly well. Whether the family were okay was a different question, and one they didn't have an answer to. They lingered outside for a while, catching their breath from their uphill venture. They decided it would be better to wait outside for a bit as if they were still alive it wouldn’t leave a very good impression if they just sauntered in.  
Frank was still as on edge as before, even Julie picked up on it and hesitantly asked if he was alright. 

Frank just rolled his eyes and barked out that he was fine. Jake figured if he wouldn’t open up to Julie then there was no point trying to get him to open up to him either. He figured it’d probably just end in the same result. Michael noticed Jake’s distress and hesitantly patted him on his head, his hand lingering a little before he removed it from the other man’s head. Jake’s face heated up and his cheeks turned red, he glanced over at Michael and saw he was still looking at him. This caused him to awkwardly look away, even more flustered than he was before. 

God, that was awkward he thought to himself. Michael always seemed to make him feel like that, he half hated it and half loved it. 

\---------------------  
Danny Johnson was a 21 year old newspaper writer, or at least he was before he left for unknown reasons. Only he knew the real reason, which was because he was too busy stalking his unknowing victims and killing them rather than showing up to work. He was never caught, always leaving no trace at the scene of the crime and always somehow having an alibi. No one suspected a thing, and thanks to the apocalypse no one ever would. 

It had been a while since he had stalked anyone, however this changed when he laid his eyes on Frank Morrison, a 19 year old canadian boy with short brown hair and brown eyes. Danny was immediately in love, he wanted to know everything about him, he wanted to follow him everywhere, he wanted him to be his. He began to follow Frank around everywhere, taking photos at any chance he could. He wasn’t in love with Frank, he was infatuated with him. 

His pockets were filled with polaroids of Frank, some of him sleeping, some of him by himself and even some of him with his friends. Danny noticed he had some sort of rivalry with some girl made Julie, he also noticed this made Frank very upset and angry. Danny didn’t like it when Frank was upset, and because of this he didn’t like Julie. In fact, he’d go as far as to say he’d even kill her if he got the chance. Anything for his dear Frankie. 

Unfortunately, he was pretty careless this time around, and had almost gotten himself caught. He didn’t expect Frank to wake up when he stole his food, but he did. Luckily for Danny he managed to get away successfully and even got to plant one of his photos in Frank’s backpack just to mess with him. He loved evoking reactions out of the other man, when Frank was all scared and paranoid the other day Danny was over the moon that he could make him feel such vivid emotions.

A day had passed since then, he was now lurking in the bushes watching Frank travel to some farm with his friends. He was lurking, waiting for any chance to snap a quick photo of his beloved. He had to be extra careful now though, it seemed Frank was extra on edge that afternoon. Perhaps he’d have to make himself known soon, he could only imagine the emotions Frank would feel when he does that. Danny couldn’t wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- wooo danny johnson :)   
> \- ty for 200+ hits!!! it means the world to us!


	5. The Yamaoka Farm & a stalker.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> frank meets his secret admirer and cheryl calls jake out

No matter how much time passed, Frank couldn’t shake off that feeling of being watched. Jake didn’t dare to ask him if he was okay, choosing to stay close with Cheryl and Michael instead. Amanda and Caleb smoked outside the gates to the farm, occasionally bickering amongst each other. Julie and Joey seemed to be walking around the outside of the land, scoping out the state of it and if anyone was alive in there or if it was a wasteland, just like the city was when Jake first saw it. Breaking his chain of pessimistic thoughts, Jake saw Claudette carefully making her way to him.

“Hey Jake, can I talk to you for a sec?” she asked, motioning to the other side of the road for some privacy. He nodded and the two crossed the road, quickly waving to Cheryl and telling Michael he’ll be back in a minute before. Michael nodded in his own way, picking weeds from the side of the road with Cheryl.

“What’s up?” Jake asked anxiety prickling his voice, the situation making him feel uneasy. Claudette seemed to notice and put her hand on his shoulder, gently patting him before pulling back. It surprisingly did put Jake’s nerves at an ease, Claudette reminded him of his mother.

“I wanted to talk about Michael or rather… ask about him,” she said to Jake’s surprise, “where did you meet him? Are you sure you can trust him? I don’t mean to be rude but he comes off as a bit… unsettling, sometimes.” Claudette rolled her thumbs and avoided eye contact, seemingly nervous by the subject.

“Michael? I met him in the city at my family’s house,” Jake started to explain, “he’s saved my life three times already. I think he’s autistic and non-verbal, so don’t hold it against him.” Claudette nodded, still suspicious at Michael which Jake could tell instantly. Was he that scary? Jake got used to him after the first couple jumpscares, maybe he’s wearing that mask because he has facial deformities or something. Jake’s mind began to wander at the thought of what Michael looked like under his mask, he’d never really thought about that. Maybe he was bald? Or old? Nah, he seemed 21 at most. 

“W-Who are you people!? Please don’t hurt me!” a female voice shouted out which caught everyone off guard. A couple 10 meters or so away from the gate entrance stood a young girl of Asian descent, shoulder length black hair and cuts all over her frail arms and legs. In her hands she held a gun that was not loaded, anyone could tell that, but Jake figured she was a teen, not a gun specialist. Caleb instantly loaded his gun and pointed it towards her to which Amanda quickly pushed it down, motioning for none of them to attack. 

“We’re not here to harm you! We were looking for shelter, dreamwalks ran over ours!” Jake replied, slowly stepping to the front of the group and getting a closer look at the girl. She was still wearing a school uniform, she must’ve gotten home from school when this shitshow started.  
It was torn at the seams and dirtied, blood stains decorating the pattern, the badge telling Jake it was the private school he attended in his youth too. Good, something in common. He can use that.

“Hey, you go to MacMillian, right?” Jake asked which caught a few of the others off guard, the girl included, “I used to go there too! My homeroom teacher was Mr. Yamaoka, this is his farm right?” The girl lowered her guard noticing how Jake was speaking the truth, carefully approaching the gate with her gun still tightly held with her finger on the trigger. 

“Y-Yeah, he’s my dad. I’m Rin,” the girl, Rin, introduced herself and sniffled, her hands still shaking while she wiped away some tears from her face --- poor girl, her dad was nowhere in sight so he must’ve… Jake didn’t even wanna think about it. Her dad was a great guy, he often helped Jake with homework and let him have breakfast in school when his family was just too much.

“I’m Jake, these people are with me. Is it okay if we stay the night here? We can even sleep in the farm if so be it,” Jake began to bargain with Rin gently, making sure not to push any buttons or make her even more upset than she already was. Rin looked at the group and thought for a while, her eyes specifically landing on Frank.   
He was still holding his knife defensively but she wasn’t looking at that, rather than what was behind him. A shadowy figure was behind a bush but it disappeared as soon as she had noticed it. Rin brushed it off as her imagination before opening the gate gently, letting the group in.

“Yeah, i-it’d be great if you guys could help out with some work,” Rin said, “we need to barricade the fences and make the house safer. Could a-anyone help me with giving the cows their food?” Julie and Claudette instantly volunteered while Cheryl seemed to shyly look at Rin and the cows, cows were her favourite animal but was too shy to ask.

“Do you wanna help too?” Claudette asked gently to which Cheryl gladly nodded, skipping over to them with a big smile on her face. Frank, Joey, and Caleb seemed to take on the task of barricading the fence while Amanda, Michael, and Jake decided to work on making the house safer than it already was. Rin seemed like a kind girl, she had taken in all of them while not even knowing their names. Claudette seemed to be asking about her cuts and wounds, offering to patch them up before they fed the livestock while Julie talked with Cheryl. Julie seemed… somewhat relaxed, at least Jake would say so considering what happened to her girlfriend.

“So, what’d you think?” Amanda suddenly asked Jake as the three made their way over to the house, the exterior having Japanese hints of inspiration. It seemed to be three floors, some windows already barricaded with wood while others were broken. Jake shrugged, looking at Amanda.

“Don’t know, I know her dad and that’s about it,” Jake replied, “she seems like a reliable person. Don’t think we have to worry about much other than the physical labour.” Jake chuckled at his own remark and Amanda smiled, rolling her eyes with a scoff. Michael looked at the two somewhat confused, not understanding the joke nor the reaction.  
For Frank, things were already going downwards. He and Joey were already arguing at the fence about what type of wood they should use, Frank advocated for plywood while Joey said that would be too weak. Caleb ignored the two and worked away with a hammer, a cigarette in his mouth spreading a smell of tobacco around the farm. Amanda gave a light laugh at the two’s bickering.

“Just like a married couple, am I right?” she asked and elbowed Jake’s arm lightly, he nodded with a laugh before the three reached the house. Opening the door, Jake was surprised at how untouched it was at first glance. It was only when you really looked that you saw the blood splatters on the wall, the scratch marks on the floor, and broken glass. I guess the countryside is most safe, Jake thought to himself.  
The layout was simple, when you first entered the house a bathroom was to your left and the stairs upstairs to your right. If you kept walking forward, you’d be met with a kitchen straight ahead that led to a dining room and living room. Amanda said she’d take care of the downstairs, allowing Jake and Michael to go on ahead upstairs.

“Wouldn’t it be better if Michael was with you?” Jake asked which earned a suspicious glance from Amanda, her eyes resembling daggers as she dug around in some kitchen drawers and cabinets.

“I appreciate your manly concern, but I can manage just fine, Jake,” she said while redoing her hair bun. Jake’s cheeks flared up in embarrassment and shame before nodding slightly, rushing to go upstairs with Michael following him.  
The two arrived upstairs where the condition of the house was surprisingly much worse, papers, documents, and blood were scattered all over the wooden floor. Some doors were torn down while others were tightly locked, one of them which even Michael didn’t manage to get open. Rin’s bedroom, the upstairs bathroom, the laundry room, and the office room seemed free of danger after thorough inspection. 

Michael grabbed some plywood and tools from outside, beginning to barricade the windows.  
Jake did his best to help, Michael letting him give him spikes when he needed it and getting water once he got thirsty. Thank god this house still had running water, he was scared it wouldn’t. 

Frank was standing behind the house, leaning towards the wall as he puffed out a cloud of cigarette smoke. The backyard was nothing special, a couple abandoned swing sets and slides stood vacant and a shed full of tools was all there was to it. He ran his hand through his hair, sighing as the images of Susie getting eaten alive flashed in his mind. A wave of guilt washed through Frank and he felt something hot and wet behind his eyes: tears.   
Rustling in the bushes made him snap out of it instantly though, his ears perking up like a cat. Frank put out his cigarette and scanned the area, the bushes moving once again. A feeling of anxiety arose in his stomach and he quickly grabbed the knife out of his pocket, pointing it to whatever direction the rustling came from.

A hand grabbing his shoulder made him almost scream before the other hand was put on his mouth, muffling whatever noise came out. Frank entered panic mode and elbowed the figure behind him, it didn’t seem to be a dreamwalker. It smelled fine and the hands… the hands were gloved…? At last, the figure let go and Frank spun around with his knife stretched out, shaking only to be met by a tall man with brown wavy hair and incredibly tired eyes staring right back at him, a creepy looking mask in his hand. 

“Surprise, shawty!” The man said, waving his hands if he were doing a performance and his face wearing a wide smile. Frank was frozen in place, both confused and scared shitless of what this man wanted from him. He backed away slowly, still gripping his knife tightly and not for one second losing eye contact with the man.

“Whoa, calm down there,” the stranger said to a very much not calm Frank, “I’m Danny. I won’t harm you little boy.” The man who was named Danny apparently spoke as he moved closer to Frank slowly to which Frank responded by only holding his knife tighter. Danny was a stupid name, he thought.

“Who are you? Why are you here? Are you the one who’s been following me?” Frank interrogated Danny with increasing clarity as each question was asked. On the other side of the house, he could hear the others talking about what they’d done and where Frank was. Something in Danny’s eyes told him to not make a sound they could hear if he wanted to live.

“I’m Danny, already told ya. I suppose you could say I was the one who followed you,” Danny said which caused Frank’s eyes to widen and freeze in place, “who am I kidding? Yeah, I fucking stalked you.” He let out a genuine and deep laugh which confused Frank deeply. 

“What the fuck? Why would you stalk me? Why the fuck would you tell me, idiot? I can just tell the others and get you shot right on the spot!” Frank hissed at Danny frantically, his voice louder than before. However, he began to doubt himself; Would they really believe him? Even if Danny told them that he was the stalker, they’d automatically start to doubt Frank’s liability and sanity. Fuck. 

“I wouldn’t say that if I were you Frankie, I’ll explain everything to you in due time,” Danny cooed with a sickeningly sweet voice, “I have some secrets about you and even if you decided to tell them, would they really believe a girlfriend murderer?” At those words Frank’s blood ran cold, goosebumps standing up all over his arms and neck but not because of the nickname he just got called. What secret? Was he bullshitting or did he mean… that? Almost as if Danny read Frank’s thoughts, he nodded and motioned for Frank to lower his knife. Reluctantly, Frank complied but kept his teeth grit and fists clenched. Anything but that. 

Danny was over the moon with how Frank reacted to finding out who his secret admirer was. His furrowed eyebrows, widened eyes, defensive stance and curses littered all over his speech made Danny blush and gush in his head. It was perfect! Just like he had imagined.

“How the fuck do you know about that?” Frank said lowly which earned him a smirk from Danny who approached him slowly, putting his hands on his shoulders. The touch from Danny made Frank shiver, both negatively and positively. He hadn’t been touched in a good couple months, this zombie apocalypse surely wouldn’t change that until now where Danny leaned close to his ear, whispering intimidatingly yet sweetly.

“I have my ways. Now, won’t you introduce me to your little group?” Danny whispered, “I’m starving. I haven’t slept for days because I’ve been following you around.” Frank’s heart beat like crazy out of fear and adrenaline, his body screaming to run as his legs pumped with blood yet he couldn’t move a single inch. It was like this man had an invisible grasp on him, twisted right around his pinky finger. 

Without speaking or looking back at Danny, Frank nodded and began walking back to the group with Danny smiling behind him, happily following. Who knew Frank could be so obedient when he wanted to, Danny thought to himself with a light chuckle which earned the creeps from Frank.

“There you are!” Claudette exclaimed when she saw Frank approaching, “wait, who’s that?” Her focus quickly changed to the tall figure next to him. Danny lightly nudged Frank’s arm and he grit his teeth, looking to Julie who at first didn’t care once Frank came back but her ears perked up at Claudette questioning a stranger.

“This… this is Danny, he was hiding behind the house and said he needed help,” Frank swiftly lied while putting out his cigarette on the ground. Rin seemed scared and wary of the new member of the group, however she felt a bit better with her wounds taken care of by Claudette. Cheryl hid behind Michael and Jake, looking at the stranger cautiously and analysing him. Amanda simply furrowed her eyebrows and walked up to Danny, their height difference noticeable.

“Need help with what?” She sternly asked which earned an annoyed reaction from Caleb. He walked up to the two, tensions high and the air so thick you could cut it with a knife. Danny shrugged before smiling smugly, pointing towards his eyebags and rumbling stomach. 

“I’m just hungry and tired, need somewhere to stay. This is a nice place,” he said and motioned towards the farm then looked at Rin whose face heated up at the unexpected attention, quickly looking away to the side. 

“Don’t worry son, we’ll get you settled in right away,” Caleb said, his voice dripping with that signature southern accent of his, “welcome to the group. We just secured the place for tonight, make yourself at home.” Caleb reminded Danny of his own father which was both comforting and unsettling considering he, at one point or another, had wanted to kill his dad. Caleb seemed okay though, at least easy to manipulate, Danny thought. 

“What? Caleb, we don’t know this guy. For all we know he could be a convicted serial killer!” Amanda argued back, “did you even ask Rin before even thinking of letting him come here? It’s not our farm you jackass.” Caleb audibly sighed at Amanda, slipping Danny a quick apology.

“So what, it's not our farm!? We’re in a damn apocalypse Amanda, we need to help each other!” Caleb raised his voice at Amanda who turned to Rin with kinder eyes, her hair slowly slipping out of the bun she had put it in, presumably due to all of the work she was doing prior to this.

“Hey Rin, how do you feel about this?” she asked gently to which Rin swallowed, her expression troubled. She seemed to have mixed feelings about it considering this man was hiding behind her house and she hadn’t seen him before. However, her pushover nature got the best of her.

“He can stay, i-it’s fine,” Rin weakly answered which earned an aggressive “see!?” from Caleb. Amanda shook her head and argued that she obviously only said yes because of his aggressive nature which sparked an endless argument before Julie decided to finally speak up. 

“I don’t really trust Frank at all, I might be biased but I don’t know. Him finding someone hiding in the bushes? How do we know he’s not trying to fuck us over?” Julie said and looked to Frank with judging eyes who, very uncharacteristically of him, looked away instead of arguing back. Jake didn’t want to agree but it was hard not to, Frank didn’t seem to be in the best mental state.

“Maybe, but saying that is a bit harsh,” Jake replied and crossed his arms, “it’s not that we can’t trust you Frank, it’s just that… everything has been a bit weird since yesterday I guess.” Jake scratched his neck nervously, trying to search for words that didn’t seem as offensive. Danny sighed and shook his head.

“He’s telling the truth, I’ve already told you that. Just trust him, if you still doubt me by tomorrow morning I’ll leave,” Danny said in an unsettling serious tone which caused everyone to pause in their tracks. Claudette held her arm anxiously and Amanda didn’t seem convinced, Frank was mostly shocked. Someone defended him? That was new, especially recently. 

“Fine, but you’ll have to help around the farm too. You’ll be sleeping in the barn like everyone else, don’t think you’re special,” Amanda said with a poison stinging her words before leaving and going back into the house to finish barricading the windows. Caleb sighed and lit a cigarette, puffing out a cloud of smoke.

“Sorry ‘bout that, she has a temper,” he said before leaving as well along with Joey to keep working on the fence. They had made steady progress and were about halfway done, this work was gonna take all day. By the time everyone got there it was morning and now, it was around 12 p.m. 

“Hope you’re telling the truth, ‘Danny’,” Julie said with a condescending tone plaguing her words as she walked away back to the farm. Rin and Claudette followed her quickly, Claudette saying something about not being so mean and Rin apologising quietly for allowing him to stay. 

The people left were Danny, Frank, Jake, Michael, and Cheryl; For the first time since this mess started Frank really wished they wouldn’t leave him alone. However he couldn’t shake off that sense of feeling… liked, for once. No one would stalk someone for no reason, right? Danny had to like Frank in one way or another, that made him feel nice even if he hated to admit it.

“Sorry that I was kinda a dick,” Jake apologised to Frank, “I’m not a morning person.” Cheryl looked at Jake confused and also a tiny bit angry, tugging at his sleeve which earned his attention before she pointed at the high noon.   
“It’s not morning,” she said and Danny laughed, Michael completely unaware of why he was laughing. Jake quickly hushed Cheryl before hastily leaving with her to go back inside the house, Michael following without a second thought. Frank was once again alone with Danny who sighed with relief, his expression relaxed and content.

“Let’s go help the others,” Danny said and took a hold of Frank’s wrist, “don’t wanna get kicked out.” The two hung around the different jobs everyone had been assigned before settling on helping with the fence, Danny and Caleb chatting away with Joey joining in every once in a while. Frank was quiet the whole time though, silently focusing on getting this fence as safe as possible.  
Fuck, what mess had he gotten himself into?

The night that came after a day full of work and getting to know each other had everyone exhausted, the worn down barn dimly lit with a red metal lantern hanging from the hayloft as rain started to pour down outside with thunder moving closer and closer. Rin had just said goodnight to everyone before returning to the house to sleep, it was no secret that the group was incredibly thankful for Rin’s kindness. The hay was better than the store’s hard floor, it was warmer too. The rain arguably brought peace to Jake, it felt like home if he closed his eyes.  
Michael and Jake were laid next to each other with Cheryl in the middle of them as usual while Julie, Claudette, and Joey slept in the corner of the worn down barn using their jackets and some extra hay as pillows. Frank was laid with Danny and Caleb who, even now, were still chatting about their life experiences before all this started. Frank was quiet, whole body tense and cautious. Amanda said she’d rather sleep alone and that she did, she had made her own private space on the hayloft and was fast asleep after a quick smoke.

“Hey Jake,” Cheryl quietly asked and turned to face him, “is Danny a bad guy?” Jake was caught off guard by the question, unsure of how to answer it. He looked to Danny, who seemed friendly enough talking with Caleb, but something felt off about him. Michael sensed it too, it just felt as if they hadn’t heard the whole truth despite Danny’s insistence.   
“I don’t know, maybe. Only time will tell,” Jake replied in a comforting tone, his voice tired and raspy, “you should get some rest now. We’ll talk more in the morning, ‘kay?” Cheryl nodded and turned away, closing her eyes and trying to sleep. She missed her dad and home; Jake missed all of that too. He closed his eyes and before he knew it fell into a deep, deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- hi everyone! thank you so much for 400 hits. it means the world to us and your support motivates us!
> 
> \- we apologise for being a bit late with this chapter, life has been consuming a lot of our time! 
> 
> \- no deaths or angst this chapter :D (soon...)


	6. Dead children.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> jake kills a child. :(

Sunrays shyly peeked through the barn’s cracks, the sunlight making Jake’s eyes flutter open, the fresh morning air entering his lungs. Jake slowly sat up from the makeshift hay bed, looking at Michael who was already awake staring at him and Cheryl who was awake as well, she yawned and rubbed her eyes before saying good morning to Jake who tiredly said it back.   
Everyone else seemed to be awake as well, the only one’s still asleep being Frank and Julie. Looks like neither of them got a lot of sleep, Jake thought and got up, stretching out his hand to help Cheryl get up too. The three walked out of the barn and Jake inhaled the morning air with a relaxed exhale, the grass was covered with dew from the rainstorm last night. Rin was sitting at the porch of her house, her expression seemed worried and distressed; Jake approached her carefully with Cheryl holding his hand and Michael watching from afar.

“Good morning,” Jake said with a wave before he sat down next to her, “anything wrong?” Rin seemed surprised at first but her expression softened once she realised it was Jake. She found comfort in the fact that they were connected through her father. Plus, Cheryl was with him and the two had gotten along yesterday. Rin let Cheryl pet the cows and promised she’d let her ride one today.

“Good morning Jake,” Rin replied and sighed, “we don’t have much food left. I-I was gonna go hunting but… honestly, I d-don’t know how to hunt.” Cheryl gently patted her shoulder with a tiny smile to which Rin smiled back, her worries disappearing for a bit. Jake thought for a bit, looking for a solution.

“Well, what about the cows? Can’t we make bread?” Jake asked and looked over to the cows in their enclosed pasture, eating grass and hay that Rin, Cheryl, and Claudette had tossed out yesterday. Rin shook her head and motioned to herself before continuing to speak, her tone distressed and anxious.

“We could but it wouldn’t be enough to feed all of u-us,” she said and put her face in the palms of her hands. Jake had never made bread so he wouldn’t know but Rin was probably right, there were eleven mouths to feed and not that many cows. Amanda approached the group, her hair down and in her hands a cigarette.

“Hey,” she said and sat down next to Jake, “what’re you guys talking about?” Rin looked to the side, presumably scared that Amanda would get mad at her if she found out there wasn’t enough food for everyone. Cheryl was comforting her and Michael was unresponsive as always, so as usual Jake did the talking.

“Rin says there’s not enough food to feed all of us,” Jake explained and Amanda simply puffed out a cloud of smoke, the smell of tobacco filling the air and Cheryl coughed into her arm. Amanda mouthed a quick apology before putting out her cigarette, thinking for a bit before seeing the woods across the farm.

“Why don’t we just go hunting? Berries and small animals should be fine to eat,” Amanda suggested, “Cheryl told me you lived in the woods before this. You know how to hunt, right?” Jake nodded and recalled the times the road would be unusable due to snowstorms and how he’d have to kill rabbits and squirrels to eat. He hadn’t done it on his own though, he had a Youtube video playing because he was scared shitless. 

Rin seemed taken aback by the suggestion but didn’t disagree, food was food and sooner or later they’d have to kill animals, she thought to herself. It was human nature, right? Without this they’d starve.

“Let’s go ASAP,” Amanda said and got up from her spot, “I’ll tell the others. Bring a gun and a knife.” Jake nodded as Amanda walked away back to the barn, putting her hair back into her usual 2000’s inspired hair bun. Rin got up as well and left to go back inside the house, wishing them good luck before closing the door. 

Michael grabbed his knife from his pocket before handing it to Jake, his palm open and waiting for Jake to take it while he stared at him as usual. Jake’s face heated up and he took it carefully, their hands making an ever so slight contact with each other which caused Jake’s heart to skip a beat. It’s not that he liked Michael, no, that’s not it at all! It’s just that Michael is basically Jake’s ideal type. Tall, strong, reliable, doesn’t annoy him, protective… God, what was he thinking? 

“O-Oh, thanks,” Jake hastily thanked him, to which he could swear Michael chuckled at. Cheryl looked at the two confused, her eyebrows furrowed and arms crossed. Jake almost forgot she was there due to the little moment they just shared. Oh right, was Cheryl gonna come with them? Would that be safe?

“I’m gonna come with you,” Cheryl said with a stubborn tone, “Julie gave me a knife yesterday! I can help.” She pulled out a tiny pocket knife from her hoodie pocket holding it by the blade, showing it to Jake who quickly corrected her grip. Where did Julie even get another knife from? 

“It might be better for you to stay here. Those dreamwalkers don’t care if you’re a kid,” Jake gently replied to which Cheryl stomped on the ground and crossed her arms once again. God, why are children so stubborn? Jake looked at Michael and almost as if he read his thoughts, he shrugged slowly before returning to making sure his gun was loaded and not jammed. 

“No! I’m gonna come with you,” Cheryl protested, which Amanda overheard as she came back from the barn, this time with her gun and knife along with her red coat. It was February after all, however the weather wasn’t as cold as you’d think it’d be. Jake could only speak for himself though considering he was wearing a very secure green winter coat along with a pair of boots.

“What’s the harm in bringing the little girl? She needs to know how to defend herself,” Amanda questioned, confused at Jake’s resistance. Cheryl smiled brightly at Amanda being on her side, rushing to beside her. Jake sighed and gave in to the two, arguing against Amanda and Cheryl would be like talking to a brick wall. After they said their goodbyes to the group for now, the four of them set off into the woods.

They had been walking on a simple man-made path for a while now, Michael holding Caleb’s rifle he lent to him, Jake holding his pistol and Amanda her knife. Cheryl was their designated lookout and she held her knife tightly, alerting them of anything interesting she saw. (This included a very cool stone that she had to pick up and show to Jake.) The air however was silent until Amanda decided to strike up a conversation.

“So, what were you doing before all… this happened?” she asked Jake and adjusted her coat slightly, zipping it up more tightly as the harsh February temperature began to really hit them. Being close to the sea meant more wind.

“I lived alone in my cabin. Had a part-time job at a pizzeria,” he replied, reminiscing about how normal everything was just a week ago. Truth is he was gonna quit his job at the pizzeria the day he drove to meet his family, he had been wanting to live in the wilderness completely for a while.

“Sounds nice, I was a substitute teacher,” Amanda said which made Jake think. Amanda? A teacher? Well, her stern tone and tendency to get shit done quickly would surely work well in a school setting. Hopefully it wasn’t young kids though, Jake thought. That’d be a funny image. 

“So, you didn’t live with Michael?” she asked. Jake almost stopped in his tracks at the sudden question, why would he have lived with Michael? Amanda noted his confused reaction and waved her hands as to say nevermind, her footsteps not slowing down whatsoever.

“I thought you were dating, that’s all,” she said with a smile which completely ignored Jake’s flustered mess of a reaction. His face turned as red as a beet, ears resembling tomatoes and his words a stuttering mess. Dating!? What did she mean by dating!? How could you think that? Amanda simply laughed at his reaction and kept walking, ignoring his countless questions. 

“What do you mean dating!? W-We’re not dating! I just met him in t-the city! That’s all! How could you -” Jake fumbled and tripped over his words before being interrupted by Michael who put his arm around Jake’s shoulder without any type of warning, his walking pace not slowing down the slightest. He didn’t even look at Jake directly, only occasionally side eyeing him to observe his reaction.  
This only caused Jake more panic as he got even more red if that was even possible, his heart beating skipping a beat every few seconds as his chest heated up. He hadn’t been affectionate with anyone in so long, this felt strange but… welcomed. Amanda laughed once again at Michael’s teasing and said a simple “sure” before talking to Cheryl instead, ignoring Jake’s pleading. 

Jake, still panicked, tried to free himself from Michael’s grip out of embarrassment but failed due to Michael’s grip. Michael signed him a simple “no” and “stop” before he kept walking as if nothing had happened, his arm still around Jake. Jake calmed down a bit and stopped struggling, his head still spinning and face still beet red.   
Maybe Michael needed this too, Jake thought and decided to let himself enjoy the affection for now, trying not to let his flusteredness get the best of him; Jake swore he could hear a faint laugh from Michael’s mask but it ended as quickly as it began.

“Jake! Jake!” Cheryl said excitedly and ran over to the two, “I found a van! There’s a campfire, too!” Amanda seemed to have gotten wind of Cheryl’s discovery, already heading into the woods to where Cheryl was pointing. Jake freed himself from Michael’s grip and instead grabbed his hand, quickly following Amanda into the woods. Michael didn’t seem to mind, at least it looked like that, Cheryl thought. 

“Oh fuck,” Amanda said with a melancholic tone. In front of them stood a van in front of a campfire, the fire burnt out and the windows shattered. The camp seemed as abandoned as it could get in the span of two days, torn tents surrounding the fire. Cheryl seemed ecstatic to find something useful, running around the camp and investigating everything she could find.

“Do you think these people are still around?” Jake asked and crouched down to take a look at the fire, finding that it had been out for a good while. Amanda shook her head and cut open what remained of the tents, revealing what seemed to be a child’s pillow, blanket, and plushie along with other bedding presumably for adults. It was stained with blood. His heart stinged and he swallowed, trying not to think about what could’ve happened to these people.

“That’s messed up,” Jake mumbled and picked up the plushie, it was a pink bunny that seemed homemade or at least sewn by hand. You could see the careful and gentle stitches, the buttons sewn on acting as eyes, and the stuffing poking out at ripped seams. 

“No kidding, guess not everyone was as lucky,” Amanda replied before poking around in the other tents, pocketing food and medicine she found. Michael kept his rifle aimed at the forest, being on lookout for dreamwalkers or the owners of the campsite even though it was unlikely. 

“Get off me! Stop!” Cheryl suddenly screamed which instantly caught Jake’s attention, his head snapping around to see a dreamwalkers arm grabbing her from the shattered van’s window, her body pressed up against it as she tried to struggle free. Jake instantly got up and got out his knife, running to Cheryl before bringing his knife right down into the dreamwalkers arm. It slowed down but didn’t stop. Jake ripped out the knife before plunging it down again, blood splattering onto his face and Cheryl’s clothes.   
With another final stab, the arm let go of Cheryl and fell down onto the ground as a disgusting stench emitted it. Jake threw up in his mouth before swallowing it back down, looking at Cheryl to make sure she was okay.

“Are you hurt? Did you get bit? Where did it grab you?” Jake frantically asked while he crouched down to be on eye level with Cheryl, scanning her arm quickly with his gloved hands. 

“Y-Yeah, it just grabbed me and I got scared…,” Cheryl said through sobs. Jake hugged her tightly and she hugged back, letting her cry into his shoulder while his heartbeat started to calm down. He didn’t know when he got this attached to Cheryl, but he was thankful he made it in time. Amanda seemed to be looking through the van, trying to find the dreamwalker that attacked Cheryl.

“Fuck,” Amanda whispered to herself which caught Jake’s attention. He let go of Cheryl gently, handing her over to Michael who had heard the commotion. She grabbed his hand and the two walked back to his post; Getting up from crouching, Jake looked into the drivers seat where Amanda was investigating with curiosity, however that innocent curiosity was quickly killed with the horrid sight they stumbled upon. 

In the driver’s seat sat a boy that could not be more than seven years old, strapped down with a seatbelt, his skin rotting and one of his eyeballs hanging out of his socket by a light red string. His arm was missing and blood was spurting out of the wound, a decapitated bone sticking out of it. He was a dreamwalker. A 7 year old boy was a dreamwalker.

“Oh my god,” Jake said and covered his mouth to keep himself from throwing up, the horrid smell entering his nose. Amanda stepped away from the van, her footsteps shaky, and threw up in the nearby bushes. Jake once again swallowed his own vomit and looked at the plushie then the boy, this must’ve been his. Fuck, he has to shoot him. Put him out of his misery. Leaving him here would be wrong and torture for him, even if he was a dreamwalker. 

Jake shakely grabbed his gun, aiming it towards its head, the boy trying to reach him with his remaining arm, groans coming out of his mouth. Whether they were of pain or sadness, Jake didn’t know. Probably both. His finger rested on the trigger, a wave of guilt and sadness washing over him, he was really about to shoot a child. Fuck, this was messed up, dreamwalker or not.   
He looked at Amanda who nodded at him before going back to scavenging the trunk of the van, rustling heard as she went through boxes and empty cans. Jake shook his head and looked back to the boy, pulling the trigger at last and with a loud bang the boy ceased to move, a hole now in his forehead. A couple tears managed to fight their way through his eyes though he quickly wiped them with the backside of his hand, looking away from the horrible sight. He couldn’t look at it anymore. It was too sad.

Cheryl and Michael had heard the gunshot, panicked at first although more so confused when they didn’t see any clear threat. Michael caught on quickly though, his height allowing him to see the sight Jake hadn’t been able to handle. He turned back around to keep guarding the group, letting Cheryl leave his side to approach Jake.

“W-What was that?” she asked and wiped her tear-stained face, trying to look into the van but Jake blocked the window with his body. Cheryl understood that whatever was in there, Jake didn’t want her to see. In fear of what could be so bad, she complied and stopped trying to look.

“Nothing, don’t worry,” Jake replied and crouched down to meet her eyes, “just… just a dreamwalker.” Cheryl knew Jake was lying but decided not to comment on it, nodding and looking at the ground. Jake suddenly remembered the plushie and grabbed it from his pocket, handing it to Cheryl who’s eyes lit up.

“For me? Really? Where did you get this?” she asked hesitantly, her smile as big as the sun itself. Jake nodded with a gentle smile, his worries easing a bit once he saw how happy Cheryl was at the gift. A child’s joy was something you never got tired of, Jake thought.

“Yes, for you. I found it laying around and thought it’d be better in your care,” he replied and Cheryl hugged it tightly, thinking for a bit about what to name it before deciding to ask the others when they got back. Jake got up and held her hand, walking to the trunk where Amanda was still searching. She looked at the two with a smug expression, motioning towards the open trunk. 

“We hit the jackpot Park,” she said brightly while Jake discovered a box full of canned food, energy bars, and even some candy. Jake couldn’t help but shout in celebration, telling Michael to come over here and check out what they had found. Cheryl seemed impressed as well, stealing a couple candies to chew on when no one was looking. 

“Wait until the others see this! This is gonna last us weeks!” Jake exclaimed while resealing the box, handing it to Michael who gave Amanda the rifle. He seemed to lift it with no ease which made Jake’s heart skip the tiniest beat before the group started the journey back to the camp, all of them in a particularly good mood.

“I’m an atheist but hey, if God exists he’s one good guy,” Amanda joked and the two laughed, Michael and Cheryl looking at them confused, not completely understanding the joke. The walk back to the farm was full of chatter between Amanda, Jake, and Cheryl. Michael occasionally signed with one hand and Jake translated it. It was… peaceful, a nice change in mood from having to shoot a child. Whenever he thought about that, his heart would sink.

Jake looked to the ground, his gaze averted from Amanda who was now talking to Cheryl about taxes for whatever reason. At least that kid would be with his parents now, Jake thought. 

Once the group reached the farm, Julie met them at the gate. Her arms were crossed, leaning towards the now secured fence as she looked at them, head to toe. She noticed Jake and Cheryl’s bloodied faces and clothes, a paler than usual Amanda and Michael carrying a big box. Amanda smiled though, patting the box and gesturing towards the now shy Cheryl. Julie was cool but scary, Cheryl thought.

“Cheryl here helped us find weeks worth of food,” Amanda bragged and patted her head. Cheryl’s face heated up and she averted her gaze to look at the ground, however she was proud of her discovery. Julie made a shocked expression before opening the box that was still being carried by Michael, smiling ear to ear at everything they had found.

“Whoa! Great job Cherry!” Julie praised her, the nickname of cherry making Jake smile. It was cute, Amanda seemed to like it too. However, the sweet moment was interrupted by what sounded like Rin screaming and it came from the barn. Jake instantly went into flight or fight mode and so did Amanda, the two running over while Michael put down the box at the porch and Julie took care of Cheryl. 

Once at the barn, Jake didn’t know what to do.  
Rin stood next to the fence, a hole in it letting a dreamwalker stick their torso through. It had a grip of Rin’s arm and shoulder, pulling her closer and closer to its mouth. Caleb was panicking, looking for something to use as a weapon while Frank simply stared in shock. Amanda didn’t hesitate a second and ran up to Rin, slamming the nuzzle of the rifle into the dreamwalkers arm. A loud cracking sound could be heard as the arm dislocated, letting go of Rin. 

She then turned the gun around and brought it up into the air only to slam it back down onto the dreamwalkers head, its skull cracking as some blood spurted out onto her clothes; It didn’t stop moving. Amanda slammed its head again, this time against the fence which caused the plywood to be dyed a deep red with guts and brain remains. With one final slam, the dreamwalker ceased movement and collapsed on the other side of the fence.

Amanda was panting, her breathing ragged and uneven. Claudette was already at Rin’s side making sure she was okay (which she luckily was) and Jake was stood speechless, his finger on the trigger as he aimed the gun towards the fence. Fuck, he should’ve helped. Michael approached the scene and stood next to Jake, looking at Rin, the dead dreamwalker, Amanda, and then Jake to make sure he was okay. Amanda mumbled something underneath her breath, Caleb sounding a quick “what?”.

“I said, what the fuck Caleb!? You were supposed to watch her! Make sure she’d be okay! Protect her! This fence didn’t do shit, what the fuck were you doing!?” Amanda yelled at him and threw the rifle to her side, walking up to him with a finger in his face. 

“I’m not a miracle worker, Amanda! Ain’t my fault that thing got through the damn fence,” he shouted back and gestured towards the broken fence, “and why the hell didn’t you shoot it? Hitting it with a gun ain’t gonna do nothing!”

“Oh yeah, so now it’s my fault!? Is that it, old man!? Fucking own up to your mistakes!” Amanda pushed him and Caleb almost lost his balance, regaining it quickly to pick up his rifle. Julie had arrived at the scene too, watching the two argue like it was just another Monday. She’s probably used to it, Jake thought.

“Hey hey hey, it wasn’t anyone’s fault. Arguing isn’t gonna do anything,” Jake said and stepped in between the two, holding his hands up to prevent anymore fighting, “Rin is okay and that’s all that matters. What happened happened, nothing can change that.” Amanda glared at Caleb and Jake before sighing, walking off to the back of the house to presumably smoke. Caleb mumbled something to himself before sitting back down on the ground, polishing his gun.

“Just… just uh, for reference, Amanda can’t use a gun,” Claudette suddenly interjected while bandaging up one of Rin’s scratch marks, “she told me back at our old camp. That’s… that’s probably why.” 

“Expected from those damned kids these days, don’t know how to do nothing,” Caleb muttered. Claudette opened her mouth to say something but quickly closed it, going back to tending to Rin’s wounds. Jake sighed and looked at Cheryl who was now standing besides him, her face cleaned from the blood. Julie cleaned it with a wet cloth, Jake assumed. 

“Caleb’s right,” Danny said with a smug smile and sat down next to him, dragging Frank down with him, “Little Frankie here didn’t know who Aretha Franklin was. I was shocked, upset even.” Caleb almost gasped in response to what Danny told him, Frank rolling his eyes and running a hand through his hair. While Caleb talked Frank’s ear off about who Aretha was, Jake noticed something in the distant bushes on the other side of the farm. 

He furrowed his eyebrows and alerted Michael about it who had already noticed, his gun ready to be used and his body language screaming defensively. But before they knew it, a voice shouted out and gunshots were fired.

Bandits.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- jake kills a child :(
> 
> \- child dead. :(


	7. Violent bandits and construction helmets.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> julie is a bad bitch
> 
> fuck david king
> 
> #FreeGeorge

Jake immediately dove for cover behind a hay-bale, pulling Michael with him just as a bullet graced by his sleeve. The impact caused it to rip open, revealing some of Michael’s skin. Jake quickly looked to Cheryl who was still standing by Rin, frozen in panic. The gunshots and angered yelling continued in the distance and Amanda quickly took cover behind a barrel, dragging Cheryl with her. Caleb quickly grabbed his rifle and ducked, attempting to find cover and settling on pieces of plywood stacked by the side of the barn. 

“Who is that!?” Amanda almost hissed in a whisper, motioning for Claudette and Rin to take cover behind the barn door, “why are they shooting at us? Do they think we’re dreamwalkers?” Rin shook her head and wiped tears off her face, sniffling turning into terrified sobs.

“N-No, they’re b-bandits, I’m s-supposed to give t-them food and I did!” Rin said frantically, stumbling over her words, “I g-guess it wasn’t enough.” Caleb furrowed his eyebrows in anger and confusion. He shot aimlessly into the woods, hitting a bandit or two before looking back to Rin.

“Bandits? Fuckin’ bandits and you ain’t tell us shit about that!” he angrily yelled which drew attention to his not so secret hiding spot, a few shots getting fired but all luckily missing. Caleb didn’t back down, though. He only seemed to get more and more angry.   
¨  
“Back off! It wasn’t her fault, she said she gave them what they wanted already,” Jake snapped back which caused the older man to get more upset. Michael was preoccupied with shooting at the intruders who only got closer to them as time went on, occasionally he’d dodge a bullet by just a couple centimeters. 

“I don’t give a fuck ‘bout that, she should’ve told us! Right, Young?” Caleb shouted, Amanda just shaking her head and ignoring him while she tried to calm Cheryl down, her sobs could be heard which made Jake’s heart sting. 

“Whatever, you don’t know shit! I’ll teach them a thing or two, shooting won’t do nothing -” Caleb began to rant, getting up from his hiding spot before being interrupted by a bullet entering his knee from one side and exiting through the other. He screamed in pain and instantly fell back down, holding his knee tightly which quickly dyed the fabric of his pants a deep crimson red. Claudette seemed distressed at the injury, trying to make a run to get to Caleb before a warning shot was fired her way; She quickly got back to hiding. 

Michael was out of bullets, the only thing coming out of his gun was clicking sounds and before they knew it the bandits were right in front of them. It was a group of 6, one of them clearly the leader. He had short black hair with shaved sides, a broken watch on his wrist and a black jacket. To his side was an older man smoking a cigarette and a timid shaking man, his hair messy and his white shirt stained with blood.

Jake stared at them, his eyes mixed with both fear and anger. The leader of them noticed that, pointing to him and Michael without any type of sound, code, or glance. It was so automatic and quick, that scared him. The older man nodded and pointed his gun towards Michael and Jake, motioning for the two of them to get up. Jake got up while staring down the barrel of his shotgun, pulling Michael with him so as to not get hurt. 

“Drop yer weapons,” the old man said to which Jake reluctantly agreed to. He took out his gun, dropping it on the ground in front of him before putting his hands in the air. Jake’s pocket knife was safely hidden, his eyes making contact with Michael’s before looking back to his shoes where the knife was. Michael caught on instantly which Jake could tell surprisingly considering that mask showed no emotions; Michael dropped his gun as well, tapping his pockets to show that was all. Jake did the same.   
The old man nodded, picking up the guns and pocketing them before looking to the leader. He was lining up the rest of them, forcibly pushing Amanda to the ground before commanding Claudette, Rin, and Cheryl to do the same. 

They quickly complied and sat down besides Amanda, their hands in the air. Caleb was still grunting in pain which earned a smack to the head by one of the other men, dragging him to the others. Claudette tried to look at his wound the best she could, whispering to him that it’d be okay. Not soon after, Frank and Danny were found as well, Frank putting up a fight before being knocked in the head which made him comply. Julie was nowhere to be found though, Jake thought and anxiously looked around. Frank seemed to notice that too.

“I see Rin made some friends,” the leader said as he observed, everyone having no choice but to listen to what he has to say. “maybe that’s why she didn’t have enough food.” He had a British accent, Jake noted; His math tutor had one too which is why Jake was able to recognise it. The older man let out a deep chuckle and put out his cigarette on the ground, putting a hand on the leader's shoulder.

“Ya know, they could be of use at our camp. Pay us back,” he said which caused the leader to smile. Jake hated the idea of having to help any of these people and Michael felt no different, his urge to beat the shit out of them growing stronger with each passing second.

“Pay you back? Fuck no, you’re sick people,” Amanda snapped at them which earned her a glare from the man stood behind her, making sure she didn’t try anything. The leader seemed amused however, walking up to Amanda and grabbing her chin. 

“Feisty, innit? We’ll take you with us, could be useful,” he said, tightening his grip, Amanda trying to look away to no avail. After a couple seconds he let go and returned to the older man as well as the smaller timid one, he had been quiet this whole time. Maybe he’s nice, Jake thought. He seemed nice at least.

“David, they have a child…” the timid man said to the leader who was named David, Jake noting the name down mentally. David shrugged in a ‘whatever’ manner to which the smaller man glared at him for, the two communicating with looks and facial expressions.

“Yeah yeah, we leave the kid, you happy, Dwight?” David replied and the smaller man, Dwight, didn’t respond. He simply looked to the ground once again, anxiously biting his fingernails. David looked to the older man again who was counting heads.

“Might have to leave a couple ‘ere with some of our men. They outnumber us,” he proposed to which David thought for a second or two before nodding. Jake silently cheered, this gave them somewhat of an advantage; As long as they didn’t take Cheryl he’d be happy. Amanda could be with her and take care of her. Out of everyone, Jake trusted Amanda and Michael the most but they were no doubt bringing Michael with them. 

“Good call Bill,” David replied to the old man (Bill) before starting to point at people in the group, “take the feisty girl, weird mask lad, Asian guy, and the two teenagers.” Jake was confused at the nicknames, but he quickly connected them. They were taking Amanda, Michael, Frank, Danny, and himself. Fuck, he still had no idea where Julie was. Joey was next to Claudette, him and Frank sharing worried glances at each other. It seemed neither of them knew where Julie was either. Claudette could probably take care of Cheryl though, however Cheryl herself didn’t seem that happy with the idea.

“I-I wanna go with Jake,” she sniffled and made an attempt to go to Jake and Michael, however Claudette quickly took a hold of her arm and stopped her. Sniffles turned into sobs and she was yet again crying, Claudette trying her best to soothe and shush her. With one final pull, Cheryl freed herself from her grip and ran over to Jake to hug him tightly while sobbing into his shirt. Bill didn’t like that. At all. He pulled her away from Jake aggressively, slapping her loudly before throwing her back to Claudette and muttering something about kids. Dwight’s eyes widened and he felt horrible.

“What the fuck? You can’t slap a kid!” Jake yelled angrily and clenched his fist, preparing to punch him before Michael held his hand in place. Bill simply chuckled and instructed three of the men to stay with the others while he and David forced Amanda, Frank, and Danny up.

Jake was boiling with anger, his very core waiting for the chance to beat the shit out of Bill. David, Dwight, and Bill began walking from the farm with the group of 5, Bill walking behind them and pointing his rifle at their backs making sure they kept a steady pace. Jake looked back to see a crying Cheryl with a red cheek before his head was smacked, forcing him to focus on the path in front of them. Michael held his hand lightly, trying to comfort Jake who was visibly angry and upset.

“Where are you taking us, gentlemen?” Danny asked seemingly unbothered with the whole being fucking kidnapped, his tone of voice carefree and even humorous. David looked at him confused before nodding towards smoke in the distance.

“Our camp. We’ll get your friends later,” he replied to which Danny made an ‘oh’ sound, continuing to walk in silence. Even Frank, the hothead of the group, was silent. He walked with his head down in guilt and shame, what is he thinking about? Jake thought to himself, what is it that kept the infamous Frank silent?

Ah, maybe it was Julie. Jake still had not seen her which made him think, was she following them waiting for a moment to strike? Had she been attacked too? Was she back at the barn with the others, or was she just hiding really well? All options were just as likely, Jake hoped for the first one though. He still had his pocket knife, sure, but what could that do when these guys have guns? Was Caleb okay? Was Cheryl okay? Ahh, it was a mess.

After 10 minutes of walking, they finally arrived at the camp David was speaking of. It was an abandoned campsite filled with trailers and tents, barricaded with fences, boxes, and furniture. What caught Jake’s eyes first was a big flag hanging by a pole, the colours being dark blue, light blue, white, and turquoise. It seemed to be a simple design, the colours stacked on each other in lines. In the middle, a big campfire with people sitting around it could be seen with lawn chairs placed all over the place. 

“Come on in,” David said smugly and opened the gate, Bill pushing them with his shotgun to hurry inside. Jake reluctantly complied and Bill closed the gate behind them, everyone in the camp curiously looking at the new arrivals. One of those people being a child who couldn’t be older than Cheryl’s age, he had striking resemblance to David. A sibling, perhaps?

“Stay here until we tell you not to,” David said and left to go inside one of the trailers with Bill quickly following, the group being left with everyone looking at them and a nervous Dwight. As soon as David closed the door, he hastily scanned the group for injuries or any type of trauma injuries. 

“So so so sorry,” he mumbled while frowning at a bruise forming at the back of Amanda’s head, “David gets like that sometimes. I-I never know how to stop him, I’m so sorry.” Frank furrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists, walking up to Dwight and gripping his shirt collar.

“Sorry!? Fucking sorry!? He almost got us killed! He let someone hit a kid!” Frank yelled angrily at Dwight who was terrified, “how he is sometimes, huh? If you’re really sorry, get us out of here.” Everyone at the camp seemed too awkward to interject, letting Frank have his word with Dwight. Jake however didn’t have any of that, pulling Frank off the scared Dwight with crooked glasses. 

“Stop it Frank, you’ll get us killed,” Jake said sternly. Frank pushed him off, winding up his fist before punching Dwight square in his face which made his glasses go flying before hitting the ground. Dwight fell backwards to the ground, holding his face which was quickly turning red. As if on cue, David burst out of the trailer and ran over to Dwight who was trying to get up from the ground. Frank shook his fist to get rid of the pain of hitting Dwight’s cheekbone, his face showing no fear of David. 

“You’re so fucking dead,” David growled after helping Dwight up and giving him back his glasses, but Frank didn’t budge. Danny however tried to shield Frank which earned him a shove from David and then a punch to Frank’s face, causing him to lose his balance and fall. David climbed on top of Frank, punching the shit out of him as his fists began to be dyed a red colour due to Frank’s blood. Frank tried to fight back to no avail, David being much stronger. Frank’s nose was bleeding and there was a slit in his eyebrow, one of his eyes shut close as David didn’t slow down even one bit. 

“David, stop! I’m fine, leave him alone!” Dwight shouted at him while trying to pull him away, David refusing to let go. Jake couldn’t bear to watch, trying to look away before deciding to do something. With all his strength, he pulled away David from an almost unconscious Frank and quickly shielded him, glaring at David without breaking eye contact. 

“I think he’s learnt his lesson. Killing him would turn him into one of them,” Jake said confidently however the reality was he was scared shitless. David was much stronger and taller than him, he didn’t stand a chance if David really wanted to kill him.  
A couple seconds of silence passed before David angrily stormed off, Dwight following him and apologising. Jake turned his focus back to Frank, his eyes barely open. Amanda approached him too, looking for a pulse and nodding relieved when she had found it. It was strong, he was just blacking out from being beat the fuck up. Jake took off his coat and wrapped it around Frank, the cold air biting him but he didn’t care. Frank needed it more.

What seemed to be the camp’s medic had helped them out and had situated Frank in one of the trailers to patch up his wounds, giving Jake his jacket back in the process. The group sat outside the trailer on a couple lawn chairs, his jacket stained with some blood from Frank’s wounds but Jake didn’t care, he was happy to have it back, it was already warming him back up.

“How are we getting out of here?” Amanda asked distressed, running her hands through her hair as she rested her elbows on her legs. Michael looked to the trailer then to the gate, Jake assuming he was trying to come up with a plan. Danny shrugged and looked to the trailer window, smiling slightly.

“Don’t know. We can’t go now though,” Danny said, “we need to save Frankie too.” Amanda cringed at the nickname he had given Frank, trying to hide her eyes rolling. Michael tapped Jake’s hand gently and nodded towards a small hole in the barricade of furniture and wood then back to Amanda, Jake instantly catching on.

“Maybe you could crawl through that hole?” Jake asked and pointed to it, trying to visualise if she could. She had the same build as Jake, however she was just a bit shorter; The truth was also however that Michael didn’t wanna risk Jake getting hurt or shot if he got caught trying to crawl through. Amanda squinted to look at the hole.

“Maybe, I don’t know. It’d be too risky during the day and to be honest, I don’t wanna stay here much longer,” Amanda replied as the sun began to set behind them, the temperatures dropping and stars becoming visible on the previously bright sky. Jake sighed and agreed, it’d be way too risky.

“Only way this place is going down is a herd of dreamwalkers,” Danny noted and looked to the distance, watching a group of dreamwalkers devouring a deer carcass while groaning and every once in a while looking around for more prey. Jake thought for a moment before the cogs in his head started turning, jumping slightly when he came up with an idea.

“Hey, what if we--” 

“What are ye folks chattin’ about?” Bill interrupted Jake which caused him to yelp in surprise, he had approached them so quietly. Jake quickly stopped speaking about his idea and looked to Amanda who looked to Danny (he wasn’t even paying attention). Jake shrugged and furrowed his eyebrows, shooting Bill a glare before looking back at the campfire in front of them.

“Life, I guess. What’s it to you?” Jake replied with a hiss in his tone, an annoyed frown appearing on Bill’s face before he pointed towards a group of people on the opposite side of camp barricading the fence further. Did he want them to do work?  
¨  
“Go help before I put a bullet through yer head,” Bill threatened before walking off into a trailer again, this time locking it behind him. Jake sighed and got up from his chair and so did everyone else, it seemed they all had telepathically decided to just do what they say to stay out of trouble. At least for now. Once arriving at the barricade, the kid from before handed them each a tool with a big smile on his face, he even had a construction helmet on. Jake got a hammer while Amanda got a screwdriver, Danny a saw and Michael a box of screws and spikes. Jake and Michael quickly traded once they realised that Jake cannot in fact use a hammer properly at all.

While Michael was hammering away at a piece of plywood, the kid approached Jake. The two just stared at each other for a while, Michael occasionally grabbing a spike from Jake’s hand and ignoring the child. The kid seemed most intrigued by Jake’s hair and by Michael’s mask shown by his very clear eagerness to ask.

“I’m George,” the kid, George, suddenly introduced himself. Jake figured that they must be brothers now considering George had a british accent as well, even their names being somewhat similar. Too bad he’s related to a total douche.

“I’m Jake and this is Michael,” Jake replied a bit awkwardly and gestured to Michael who didn’t even stop to acknowledge George, simply continuing to work on the barricade. George nodded and kicked the ground, he seemed to be gathering up courage to ask something.

“Michael wears a mask because he doesn’t want people to see his face,” Jake explained before he could ask. Was that the truth? Who knows, Jake didn’t. He could’ve been wearing it because he was wanted for murder. Or because he was deformed. George however seemed to buy it and smiled brightly at Jake, happy he understood what he wanted to ask.

“Is your friend okay? My brother was really mean earlier…,” George asked and looked to the side, still kicking the ground with one of his feet. Jake was happy that George acknowledged his brother was an asshole, but it also made him sad. Jake would get George out of here, that was a promise he made to himself.

“Yes, he’s okay. Just hurt, are you okay?” Jake replied and crouched down to be on his eye level, noting some recent scratch marks and a bandaged arm. Did David…? No, he didn’t wanna think about that. It seemed as George read his mind and nodded.

“Yeah!! I just got scratched by those things yesterday, it was scary but Dwight saved me!” George began to retell the story of how a walker grabbed and scratched him, but Dwight killed it with an axe and helped patch his wounds. Jake believed it, however new concerns were brought to mind. Why were his eyes a yellow tint? Why was his skin tone so much paler than David? Was he gonna be okay?

“Hey, Jake, kinda need you right now,” Amanda said anxiously and urgently, grabbing his attention by tapping his shoulder. Jake’s concerns of George were washed away as he stood up to face Amanda, not even questioning her before following where she was taking him. Michael followed without question too, giving George his hammer who received it with a smile.  
Amanda led the two to the back of an abandoned trailer, a shadowy figure hunched over by the wheels. Jake assumed it was Danny until he saw him standing by the fence, a rush of anxiety now running through him until the figure turned around to reveal their face.

“Oh my God, Julie?” Jake asked and quickly approached the figure who was revealed to be Julie. She seemed to be okay with no injuries other than the wounds on her hand being reopened, dyeing the bandages a crimson red. Julie made a shushing noise, telling Jake to keep it down. 

“Be quiet, David’s on the other side of this damn thing,” she whispered and Jake nodded, crouching down next to her. Danny, Michael, and Amanda joined them, Danny holding his axe protectively while Amanda had her screwdriver pocketed. 

“How did you get here?” Jake asked her while whispering, trying to look for an entrance she could have found. 

“I was hiding in the bushes when they came,” Julie began to explain, “after that I followed you the way here. Saw Frank get beat the fuck up.” She then pointed to a manhole next to her and then another one way far away from the fenced camp.

“I went through the sewers but we can’t go that way anymore, it’s filled with toilet water and shit now, I got out just in time,” she said which caused Amanda to audibly sigh. Jake quietly cursed, that would be their ticket to freedom. However, Julie showed them her gun before nodding towards the group of walkers outside that Danny had seen earlier.

“We get their attention and let them in. People will panic, open the gates. That’s when we leave,” Julie proposed the idea to the group. Jake nodded instantly, this was the idea he had earlier and the plan he was gonna suggest before Bill interrupted them. It’ll… it’ll cost them a few lives but Jake needs to get back to Cheryl.

“What about Frank?” Danny interjected to which Jake was reminded of him. He was right, Frank was still in the trailer and in no shape to move. Julie sighed and thought for a second before huddling closer to them, her voice even quieter than before.

“Michael can grab him if he can’t run. Frank’s been in worse fights than this,” she said with a smug smile on her face. That was the first time Jake had seen her smile in a while and it made him smile too, her happiness was infectious. Michael nodded in agreement to the plan, keeping his arm around Jake’s shoulders.   
By now the sun had set, the moon having rose and shining down on them. 

“Let’s go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- thank you all so much for 700 hits!! it means the world to us!!
> 
> \- please comment!! your comments make our day!!
> 
> \- #FreeGeorge


	8. Reunion.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #BillIsOverParty
> 
> julie and frank are figuring stuff out
> 
> michael and jake are being wholesome

Julie and Amanda moved quickly from their hiding spot after having gone over their plan once more, crouching near the fences and hiding behind crates together. Michael and Danny were going to get Frank while Julie and Amanda waited to let the dreamwalkers in. Jake had the task of making them come to the camp in the first place. It was a difficult thing to do, but Jake tried to not let his anxiety get the best of him. 

Danny and Michael got up and left carefully, Danny using the excuse he had to piss and wanted Michael with him for protection. He covered for Jake and Amanda too claiming they were with Frank. Bill didn’t seem to think anything of it, telling them to hurry and get back to work before he shot them in the shoulder. Jake’s heart couldn’t help but ache when thinking about Cheryl, his mind was racing with scenarios that could’ve happened. It didn’t help that he overheard David saying they were getting the rest soon; he had to act fast.

“H-Hey, are you okay?” A voice asked which almost made him yelp in surprise, snapping his head back to see a concerned Dwight hovering over Jake. Jake quickly got back to his feet, dusting off dirt from his pants before nervously scratching his neck and nodding, trying to find a good excuse. It’s not like fooling Dwight seemed hard but… he was concerned about David hearing.

“Oh, hey Dwight, yeah I’m fine!” he said a bit too enthusiastically, “I was just… just going for a smoke.” Jake knew that was a blatant lie, the last time he touched a cigarette was in high school when one of his stoner friends offered him a puff which resulted in Jake having an asthma attack and having to go to the nurse. Ahh, the wonders of high school.

“You… y-you don’t have any cigarettes,” Dwight pointed out, looking at his empty hands and a lack of put out cigarettes on the ground. Jake panicked internally before hitting his pockets as if to pretend he had lost it, letting out a long and exasperated sigh.

“Damn! Could’ve sworn I had it, haha…” he nervously chuckled, “anyways. What brings you here?” Dwight seemed confused but decided to drop it, assuming he’d had a long day. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t too, seeing Bill slap a child and his boyfriend, David, kidnap people was more than enough to leave Dwight on edge.

“I just w-wanted to see if you were okay, George said you left in a h-hurry with uhm, Amanda, was it?” he replied and adjusted his glasses, the glass cracked from when Frank punched him. Jake almost felt bad. Yeah no, he felt terrible. Dwight seemed like a nice guy, just with the wrong people. 

“She was upset about Frank and I comforted her,” Jake smoothly lied, “she’s visiting him right now.” He motioned towards the trailer where Frank was resting and Dwight nodded, seemingly buying it which made Jake silently celebrate.

“They didn’t s-seem that close,” Dwight admitted and looked away to avoid eye contact, Jake scrambling to find an excuse or explanation. In the distance, dreamwalkers groans and moans could be heard to fill the awfully awkward silence.

“It’s kind of a love-hate thing, you know? Like a…,” Jake mumbled pretending to look for a word, “older sister and little brother situation! Yeah. Not related but they act like it.” Jake laughed awkwardly and Dwight smiled briefly before returning to his usual frown. Jake looked around to find George talking with David by the campfire, his condition seemed to be worsening. Could he be…-

“He’s bit,” Dwight bluntly stated which made Jake’s heart drop to his stomach. He looked back to Dwight with widened eyes, his pupils scanning for an explanation or a cue for ‘just joking!’ but it never came. All that came was a silence filled with uncertainty and guilt. Before he could speak, Dwight spoke again.

“I lied to David about it, told him he just got scratched and that’s why his arm is bandaged. He got bit and I panicked,” he said and averted his gaze, “he’s not making it much longer. David told me his friend back when it all started a week ago got bit too and… he became one of them. It only takes a day or two.” Jake was silent, he didn’t know how to react or what to say. Dwight could sense that.

“Oh my God… you need to tell him,” he mumbled before covering his mouth, the shock of the situation settling into realisation of what was gonna happen. George was gonna become one of them and David didn’t even know, he didn’t have a clue. His younger brother is about to fucking die and he doesn’t even know. 

“But, I… no, nevermind. I’ll l-leave you alone now, see you Jake,” Dwight said and with that, he left Jake alone with his thoughts behind the abandoned trailer once again. He sighed out loud and cursed to himself, this was so fucked up, Jake thought; But he didn’t have time for this. As much as he’d love to curse about it for another hour, he had to move and find something to distract the dreamwalkers with. 

Jake shook his head and turned back his focus to the task at hand, leaving the back of the trailer and walking out into the campsite. Some were working on the barricade while others warmed up by the fire, the chatter of everyday life having been something Jake hadn’t heard in ages. He sighed before looking around trying to find something to grab the dreamwalkers attention, his eyes landing on a couple rocks.

“Worth a shot,” he mumbled to himself and crouched down to pick the rocks up. There were around 5 of them, if it doesn’t work it’ll at least let them see there’s humans to eat. He sneakily made his way over to the fence mixed with a barricade, choosing his best throwing arm which was his right one. Jake used to do baseball in high school, he actually got pretty good before his family went into debt.

With a huff he threw the rock as far as he could, landing near the group of dreamwalkers which caught their attention. They looked towards the rock for a couple seconds before turning back their focus on eating what remained of the dead animal. Jake sighed, trying again which only resulted in the same thing. Unless he possessed some god-like aim, Jake wouldn’t be able to hit them. Not at this distance. Screaming would --

“Fuck, help me David!” a voice, Bill’s, screamed out which shifted Jake’s attention quickly. By the fire was Bill with something on his back, struggling to get it off. Jake squinted, being unable to make out what it was before it clicked. Fuck. That was George… or, what was left of him. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes white with yellow spots, he was groaning and trying to bite down into Bill’s neck. Across the campfire stood a frozen David, he was panicked and unable to move while Dwight was nowhere to be seen. Jake looked to the dreamwalkers as Bill kept screaming, the commotion attracting them. Not like this… no.

Jake’s eyes scanned the area for any sight of the others, making eye contact with Julie who was about to tear open a hole in the fence. Amanda was next to her, holding a knife and keeping her eyes focused on the walkers. Julie hadn’t realised it was a child. She thought Jake had managed in some way to cause panic. Jake however felt horrible, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go.  
“David! Throw me gun! I’ll blow his damn head off,” Bill shouted again at the unmoving David, his eyes only widening more and more as the reality of the situation hit him. George only got closer and closer to his neck.

“God damn it, hurry before he bites me!” Bill panicked, trying to reach for his shotgun on the ground. As he leaned down, a blood curdling scream could be heard from him as George sunk his teeth into his flesh, blood splattering everywhere and a disgusting crunchy sound being heard as he chomped his way through muscles. A lifeless Bill fell to the ground as George continued to eat him, Julie taking it as a cue as she tore the gate open and ran for cover.

Dreamwalkers began pouring in and David stood still, his mouth open and his skin as pale as snow on Christmas Day. One of his men ran up to Bill only to be George’s next victim, the now dreamwalker pouncing onto his legs and biting it. Another scream could be heard and chaos erupted in the campsite, screams and shouts conflicting with the groans of dreamwalkers as they bit into their next meals.

“George… George, no,” David began to mumble, tears threatening to spill and burning behind his eyes. He clenched his fists and a couple sniffles escaped the usually stoic man, he couldn’t believe that his own brother was one of them. The kind that killed his family and friends. George was all he had left, oh sweet sweet George. He was… gone, just like that. David couldn’t even say goodbye.

“Jake! Get moving, we need to get Frank!” Julie commanded Jake which snapped him out of his daze, beginning to follow the running Amanda and Julie who were making their way towards the trailer where Frank was resting. The medic seemed to be gone, probably busy with trying to save their loved ones from those blood thirsty hounds. The three came to a halt as they reached the trailer, hurrying inside only to find Frank sitting on the floor, a still Michael, and an annoyed Danny.

“Get up! What the fuck are you doing?” Amanda shouted and looked to Danny for an answer who only shrugged and sighed. 

“He won’t get up, trust me I tried,” Danny said and nudged Frank who wouldn’t even look at them, “I don’t think he wants to.” The answer seemed to struck a nerve with Julie, her grip on her gun tightening as she threw it aside to Amanda. 

“Frank, get the fuck up! This isn’t about what you want,” she said and offered her hand to Frank who refused it. His eyes were dull and glossed over, that once fiery gaze being replaced with… nothing. He felt numb to the very core, Jake thought and frowned.

“Jules, I can’t,” Frank replied, his voice raspy and thin, “I can’t.” Julie grew frustrated with him, crouching down to be at his eye level before trying to pull him up. Frank didn’t even move an inch though, every part of his body screaming to stay. It’s like he was glued to the ground for eternity.

“What do you mean you can’t!? Yes, the fuck you can! You’re not paralysed, are you?” Julie reasoned with him, the anger and distress in her voice growing more and more as dreamwalkers could be heard outside, every second passing drawing them closer to the group. Frank shook his head.

“No, Jules! I don’t deserve this! I fucking killed Susie! I’m a murderer, I don’t deserve a second chance!” Frank snapped and yelled, those all too familiar tears riddling his voice, “why me? Why am I the one who survived!? I should’ve been the one to die, I should’ve been the weak link! I don’t wanna try anymore, I can’t!” Tears began to stream down his bruised face, both Jake’s and Julie’s eyes widening. Julie went silent for a second, clenching her fists before grabbing Frank’s shirt.

“You and Joey are all I have left, you fucking idiot! You didn’t kill Susie, that dreamwalker killed Susie! Stop feeling bad for yourself and get up before I fucking make you,” Julie shouted at Frank in his face, a clump in her throat turning into a full blown sob, “I’m not leaving you to die! I’m not letting you die like I let Susie die!”

The trailer went silent except for the dreamwalkers outside clawing at the door to get in, everyone shocked at the exchange. Even Danny seemed surprised before he started to smile smugly, making his way to the door with his gun in hand. 

“If someone yelling at you like that convinces you, I don’t know what will, Frank,” he said with a chuckle before opening the door and beginning to shoot dreamwalkers dead. Frank was silent for a couple more seconds before nodding, wiping away his tears and grabbing Julie’s hand. 

“You’re right, I need to prove myself,” he said as both of them stood up, “give me a gun and let’s go.” Jake swore he could see Julie smile for a split second before handing him her gun, grabbing a survival knife from her pocket and following Danny’s lead. Frank followed shortly, firing a few bullets at a dreamwalker trying to ambush Julie.

Amanda looked to Jake with a light smile before heading out as well, jamming her knife into a crawler’s head. Jake looked at Michael who stared back at him, seemingly waiting for a command. Jake laughed before grabbing his wrist, getting them both out of the trailer.

“Cover me,” he said and let go of Michael to shoot a couple dreamwalkers, running after the rest who were making their way to the gate. Michael followed, shooting a couple as well to protect Jake mainly. Jake couldn’t help but look at the mess that was unfolding, he could see David fighting his way to survival with tears in his eyes and his men dying left and right. He turned back to look at the gate, the rest already being on the other side; They were waiting for Jake and Michael. 

“Hurry up!” Julie shouted at them and Jake nodded, starting his run over there along with Michael. However a pair of arms wrapping themselves around his neck thought otherwise, the groaning letting him know it was a dreamwalker. Jake struggled to free himself, looking to Michael who was already busy with a couple dreamwalkers cornering him. The rest were unable to move, being blocked by a wall of dreamwalkers trying to get to them. Just as Jake thought it was over, he heard a gunshot and felt the two arms let go of him, a familiar ringing in his ears. Who--

“R-Run! I’ll take care of them!” Dwight yelled at Jake who only just now looked around to find him holding a gun, shooting multiple of the dreamwalkers including the one that had held Jake. He felt a sense of warmth in seeing Dwight alive and well, however it was replaced with anxiety realising Dwight was cornered.

“I’m not leaving without you!” Jake shouted back which earned him a pair of rolling eyes from Dwight. Dwight surprisingly pointed the gun at Jake, then pointed it to the gate with the rest of the others. His eyes were filled with determination and a need to prove himself, Jake would’ve never guessed he had it in him.

“Go before I shoot you myself!” Dwight threatened, his voice for once assertive and confident. Jake hesitantly complied, exchanging a few looks of worry and anxiety before making a run for it, running through the dreamwalkers as they got shot by Dwight. As soon as Michael and Jake made it out the gate, Danny and Amanda pushed it shut before the group made a run for it back to the farm, Jake being the one to lead the way. 

On the way back, Jake’s legs were carrying him faster than he could keep up with. Inside his mind all he could think about was Cheryl. If she was okay, if she was hurt, scared, bitten, upset, crying? He couldn’t shake that image of her crying as he was forced to leave her behind in his mind, it kept haunting him and would keep doing so until she was in his arms.

“They’re back!” a familiar voice shouted as the farm came in sight, that all too visible red house and barn making his heart go pitter patter. He had a burst of energy and practically sprinted to the gate, slamming it open almost causing the frame to break off. The first face he was met with being Claudette’s. Her hair was a mess and she was more relieved than ever, running to greet them.  
“Oh my God, I’m so happy you’re okay! Are you hurt?” Claudette instantly began questioning Jake as the rest of the group caught up, her answer being Frank’s face. She hurried her way over to Frank, bombarding him with a million questions of what happened and if he was okay. Danny seemed to stay to answer them, Michael making his way over to Jake.

Cheryl, where’s Cheryl ---

“Jake!! You’re back!” Cheryl said as she ran towards Jake, a band-aid from when Bill slapped her. Jake almost felt himself cry from relief, kneeling down and opening his arms just as Cheryl collided with him in a big, warm hug. She sobbed into his shoulder and Jake gently rubbed circles on her back, trying to shush her to the best of his ability.

“I’m okay, don’t worry,” Jake reassured her and let go of her to point at Michael, “Michael’s okay too!” Cheryl was overjoyed, going to hug Michael as well who awkwardly patted her head before she let go. 

She took a hold of both their hands, walking to the barn where it seemed Rin, Joey, and Caleb were sat. Caleb had his leg bandaged and Rin seemed to be momentarily tending to it, Joey having dozed off.

“The mean guys left because their little talkie device said something was wrong…,” Cheryl explained, “they were gonna take our food but I told them ‘no! That’s ours!’ and they listened!” She was very proud of herself, her voice overflowing with excitement and happiness as she retold the story. 

“Really? What would’ve you done if they didn’t listen?” Jake asked, matching her excited tone, just as invested in the story as she was invested in telling it. Cheryl stopped talking for a couple seconds to think before shrugging.

“Don’t know… maybe tell Caleb because he has a big scary gun,” she replied which caught Caleb’s attention. He looked at the three but panicked briefly for a moment, his nerves calming once he saw Amanda catching up with them. Her hair was a mess and she had blood splattered on her face, but she was okay and that’s what mattered.

“Hey there kiddo,” Caleb said, his voice weak presumably from blood loss, “glad you lot made it in one piece. Didn’t expect anything else.” Jake smiled at Caleb’s friendliness and nodded, sitting down besides him and Rin. Cheryl happily made her way back over to a corner in the barn, she seemed to be colouring something. Michael sat next to Jake as expected and Amanda leaned towards the doorway, lighting a cigarette.

“It was a mess but hey, we’re alive,” Jake said with a smile and Caleb chuckled, adjusting his leg slightly before putting it up on a makeshift leg rest made out of hay and plywood. Amanda looked at his leg, her eyes mildly concerned before looking away and exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“No kidding. Damn bandits,” Caleb muttered and looked to the others who were making their way back to the barn. He noticed Frank’s face and furrowed his eyebrows, however decided not to ask knowing Frank probably got his ass handed to him.

“I’m so glad you all made it back,” Claudette said and sat down relieved, “I was so scared. Caleb here was talking about Amanda this Amanda that, he was worried sick.” She chuckled , Caleb pulling down his hat to cover his face before shaking his head. Amanda smiled slightly.

“How’s your leg, old man?” she asked and put out her cigarette, sitting down besides Caleb. Claudette smiled and so did Jake, both of them happy to see the two finally getting along. Caleb cared for Amanda a lot, anyone could tell that.

“Been through worse,” Caleb replied, “back in the day I got shot in my abdomen twice! Didn’t make a damn peep.” Rin seemed amused by Caleb’s stories and inquired for more information about it, causing Caleb to go on a full story about the time he got shot and had to keep quiet so he didn’t get killed. She was just as invested as he was, memories of her father’s stories coming to mind. Soon enough, everyone joined in with their own stories and experiences.

Jake tuned out, his mind felt at peace with the friendly background noise; Crickets playing their songs, the rustling of leaves in the wind, and banter from his… friends? Is that what he could call them? He supposed so.

Michael looked at Jake, well, more like stared at him and slowly but surely got closer to him, wrapping his arm around Jake’s shoulders. Jake embraced the warmth and leaned his head towards Michael’s shoulder, his heart skipping a beat every few seconds but he was too tired to care. Eventually, Jake drifted off to sleep, high on the affection and warmth as well as the moment of peace the group had experienced for the first time in a couple days. It felt so nice, so nice in fact Jake didn’t even dream. 

For the first time in ages, he slept decently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- we decided to give you guys some wholesome stuff to prepare you for the calm before the storm <3
> 
> \- thank you for almost 800 hits, seriously, it's crazy and it makes our day!!
> 
> \- we <3 julie and amanda
> 
> \- caleb and amanda are father and daughter. prove me wrong


End file.
